As an Albuquerque-centric blog, BetterBurque can now report that plans are afoot (or a-transit, if you prefer)  for Amtrak to run high-speed trains, traveling 160 mph plus, within 2,000 miles of Albuquerque.

Yes, we’re talking “Eastern Seaboard” here, and its very big, relatively close, cities. It is worth noting, however, that if the Amtrak train going through Burque, the Southwest Chief, ran 160 mph, it would be only about a seven hour trip to Los Angeles, stops included, and probably a smidge under ten hours to Chicago. Having taken Southwest Chief in both directions from ABQ myself, it is hard to wrap one’s head around just how great such a timetable would be compared with the “scheduled” (and often wrong) 15 hours to LA and 25, count ’em, to the City of Big Shoulders.

Closer than 2,000 miles away, you can read about Amtrak’s plans on the very same device you’re currently reading BetterBurque. It seems Amtrak now has a rather fancy “blog” that is far, far more modern than anything Amtrak has literally walking/running through ABQ these days.  A possible New Mexico reference is made there:

*Alstom will be building these new trainsets in New York State, with 95 percent of the trainset’s components being made in America, and parts coming from more than 350 suppliers in over 30 U.S. states.

One hopes at least a few of the 350 suppliers are located in the Land of Enchantment. We can use all the supplyin’ we can get these days, particularly in our antiquated oil/gas field economy. If something doesn’t change here soon, more and more of NM’s best and brightest will be riding these new high-speed trains Back East to get to work, Paseo del Norte “flyover” or no. It doesn’t matter how fast it goes if you’re taking a train to nowhere.

*Yes, Alstom is a French company.