Barth Hague is losing hope. He is starting to believe that a decades long effort to preserve the Southwest Chief has been in vain, and that the death of the long distance train from Chicago to Los Angeles with a daily stop in Newton is just around the corner.
“I canceled a reservation I had because it appears I am not going to be able to use the train” Hague said.
He said friends and acquaintances have been asking him if they should do the same in the wake of an announcement this month that Amtrak plans to stub the train — ending the westward run at Dodge City and eastward run at Albeuque, New Mexico. In between, Amtrak plans to use charter buses. Amtrak spokesmen state that a final decision on the future of the Chief has not been made.
“I think if this service is stubbed I think ridership will decline dramatically,” Hague said. “The history is in this kind of a situation ridership drops off by at least 50 percent. I think eventually the service will be eliminated. I can imagine a time where Newton would lose train service over this.”
(Read more: Newton Kansan)