Report: Amtrak might eliminate Kansas City-to-Albuquerque route

Amtrak is considering eliminating its route from Kansas City to Albuquerque, according to a report from The Santa Fe New Mexican.

The line, the Southwest Chief, runs from Chicago to Los Angeles. But the report said that Amtrak has told transportation officials in New Mexico, Colorado and Kansas that it needs $100 million over the next decade to maintain the parts of the line in those states. The states have thus far said they do not have the money to spare, according the report.

The back-and-forth comes as Republicans in the House have focused on ending subsidies to Amtrak and privatizing the railway's most profitable routes in the Northeast U.S. Amtrak has received an approximately $1 billion subsidy since it was created by Congress in 1971.

Amtrak has said recently that it had a record number of riders in 2012. The company said 31.2 million people boarded its trains during the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30.

Coinciding with the ridership record announcement, the agency released a state-by-state breakdown of its busiest stations. According to the statistics, 130,957 boarded Amtrak trains in New Mexico, compared to 205,942 in Colorado and 49,482 in Kansas.

The company noted that its trains are "often serving as the only intercity travel mode in many of the communities we serve."

-This story was updated at 5:47 p.m. to clarify the route of the Southwest Chief line.

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