Sources and Facts

Gee, I wonder who Bo's sources are regarding the C&TS management contract negotiations for 2007. Sure doesn't sound like he's talked to anyone at CTSMC. And I certainly doubt that anyone at the Commission would be so unethical as to discuss confidential negotiation matters with an outsider. Very puzzling.
Some information is publicly available. For instance, CTSMC is a not-for-profit entity, and its contract to operate the C&TS in the past year is a public document. Under that agreement CTSMC's fee for its services is $43,000, which works out to 1.7% of the ticket revenues achieved by the railroad this season.
According to Commission materials distributed at the 11/16 NM Legislative Finance Committee hearing those ticket revenues were $2,588,000, a record. Furthermore the $43,000 also includes the managment services performed by CTSMC on the track rebuilding and locomotive rebuilding work being done this year.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I would expect that any private operator would want to see a 10% to 15% return on such a business.