Congress of the United States Washington, DE 20510 October 13th, 2017 The Honorable Elaine L. Chao Secretary US. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE Washington, D.C. 20590 Dear Secretary Chao: We write in support of the grant application submitted by Colfax County, New Mexico tor the FY 2017 National Infrastructure Investments grant announcement from the Department ef ‘Transportation. This TIGER grant, FON# DTOS59-17-RA-TIGER®, will allow Colfax County 19 continue to improve segments of the BNSF Railroad on which Amtrak’s Southwest Chief operates. This Amtrak line operates through three states: New Mexico, Kansas, and Colorado. Colfax County’s TIGER grant application will fund work in Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico. Initial estimates indicated that over $100 million was needed to upgrade the three state portion of the line to passenger train standards, Through the funding brought in by the two former TIGER grants, large sections of the Southwest Chier’s rail line has been repaired. This final TIGER grant ‘ill allow the last rail line section, based primarily in New Mexico, to be repaired and rehabilitated with the same updates that were installed on the rest of the line. ¢ Amtrak Southwest Chief Route Stabilization Project continues the work started on the route the Southwest Chief beginning with a TIGER grant that was awarded in 2014. Along the route in New Mexico, the project will address right-of-way issues including drainage and rock slides. In the Colorado and Kansas sections, rehabilitation of the right-of-way along the La Junta Subdivision between Hutchinson, Kansas and Las Animas Junction in Colorado will commence. After the project is completed, only 28 miles of older rail will remain out of the 178 miles present when the first TIGER project began. ‘The Amtrak Southwest Chief Route Stabilization Project will continue the improvement line in this area. The funding will help to replace numerous ancient signals, restore passing. and culverts, and will help curb rock slide issues near Devils Throne in New Mexico. In the 200 miles between Lamy, New Mexico and Trinidad, Colorado, 24,000 new ties will be installed to preserve the integrity of the line and keep train speeds at their current level. \f the In recent TIGER grant announcements, both Garden City, Kansas and La Junta, Colorado received TIGER grants to support the operations of Amtrak’s Southwest Chief. In the most recent iteration, some work was done in New Mexico as well. This TIGER grant funding has gone a long way in upgrading the railway to passenger train standards, Additional repairs and upgrades, however, are necessary to’ complete the work required to keep the Southwest Chief operating throughout the entire rail line,‘We fully support the application submitted by Colfax County, New Mexico for the FY 2017 ‘National Infrastructure Investments grant announcement from the Department of Transportation, and we request that you give their application thorough consideration within your agency's guidelines, Sincerely, Son vhlate >) Tom Udall tu uf Lu United States Senator United States Representative Roy to Mapobo Roger Marshall, M.D. United States Representative Michelle Lujan Machable, hajen United States Representative Michael F. Bennet Steve Pearce United States Senator United States Representative United States Senator