Letter From A C&TSRR RFP Respondent

I just received this.
January 16, 2003 VIA FEDEX
Ms. Carol Salisbury Chairman Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad Commission 5401 Stone Creek Circle, Suite 203 Loveland, Colorado 80538
Dear Chairman Salisbury:
The Commissioners should be commended for their January 11th decision which hopefully assures the railroad employees, the tourist-related business community and railfan interests that trains will be operating this coming season. A successful season for the Cumbres and Toltec is important to all concerned.
I am of course disappointed that the Commission did not take the opportunity to interview all bidders in order to discuss our proposals, each of which was prepared at some cost. But I do recognize the urgency of having an operator in place and preparing the railroad for the 2003 season. It is certainly understandable given the circumstances that the Commission sought the “expedient” solution in the interests of the affected people and communities.
However, with regard to that decision, I note that a January 15th editorial in the ABQ Journal explained that the RGRPC “---already has the expertise and the people in place ---for this summer’s season.” As stated in my proposal, I anticipated the need for this expertise to effect an immediate startup of the railroad this season and offered to employ all onsite personnel (if of course they wished to be employed by a new operator). I was fully confident that General Manager Kim Smith-Flowers and her team could mobilize quickly for the coming season and provide excellent management.
Retention of the RGRPC does not in my opinion constitute a “revival” as characterized earlier by the ABQ Journal but, in fact, once again only a temporary reprieve. The Journal’s subsequent editorial correctly compares the performance of the Cumbres and Toltec to the Durango and Silverton, as I did in my proposal, and suggests privatization of the railroad which I also proposed. And, the Journal is quite correct in predicting that the states may have to provide a “lot of money” and that the public subsidy may have to be permanent.
The Commission has not addressed, and perhaps is not able to absent reliable state support, the fundamental problems of this 64-mile railroad that have been evident for 32 years and have resulted in the failure of four operators. The product as provided is not sufficiently attractive to the consuming public as evidenced by the historically static ridership nor has the operation significantly contributed to the development of a vital tourist infrastructure in Antonito or Chama. Simply repairing the locomotives and track and resuming the previous pattern of operations will not solve this fundamental problem.
This is evidenced by the fact that during just the first two years of the RGRPC’s operations (2000 and 2001) some $3.28 million of state and federal money was invested in the railroad and yet nothing changed except a belated acknowledgement in the RGRPC’s December 2002 proposal that “It has become increasingly clear that the communities of Chama and Antonito need to begin to benefit directly from the passengers that ride the train.” It apparently has taken three years, or for that matter 32 years, for this relationship to finally be realized.
As you are aware, my proposal offers an incremental approach to the ultimate restoration of service on the railroad that would permit each state to independently develop long-term funding options. Given Colorado’s current fiscal situation, the not-yet enacted New Mexico legislation to create an annual budget line item for the Commission and the uncertainty of repeated federal economic development grants, I believe that the most practical course in the short term is to operate only so much of the railroad as can be sustained within the limits of existing resources (capital improvement grants and operating income). To do otherwise jeopardizes the future of the entire railroad with a “business as usual” approach which relies on state and federal bailouts. This has heretofore resulted in a crisis-to-crisis scenario requiring unplanned and unprogrammed state and federal funds and private donations. It is painfully evident that these investments have not assured the future of the railroad.
I would argue that a small success at this time is far better than another large failure. The alternative is perpetual state funding of both operating and capital costs which, again, offers no assurance that the communities will benefit from any significant increase in tourist spending to sustain a viable and economic tourism industry.
In fairness to the interested parties and the public, and the future of the railroad, if a sole-source contract justified on the basis of expediency in awarded to the RGRPC, I urge the Commission to limit that contract to one season terminating October 2003. A fair and open competitive bidding process should immediately commence in order to address long-term operations and to avoid another crisis similar to that experienced last year by the RGRPC’s cancellation of their contract.
I wish to reaffirm to the Commission and the public my continuing interest in the future of the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad and look forward to another opportunity to submit a proposal for operation of the railroad.
Sincerely, Jerry A. Fisher
6223 Arkendale Road Alexandria, Virginia 22307
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