The La Junta Subdivision is a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

line owned, maintained and operated by the

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, transcontine ...

. The line stretches for across the south-central and southwestern parts of

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

and the southeastern part of

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. The line branches off from the Emporia Subdivision at Ellinor, Kansas, and runs through Newton, Hutchinson,

Dodge City Dodge City is a city in and the county seat of Ford County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 27,788. It was named after nearby Fort Dodge, which was named in honor of Grenville Dodge. The city ...

and Garden City, all within the state of

. The line connects with Boise City Subdivision at Las Animas Junction in

Las Animas, Colorado Las Animas is the statutory city that is the county seat, the most populous community, and the only incorporated municipality in Bent County, Colorado, United States. The city's population was 2,300 at the 2020 United States census. Las Ani ...

, which connects it further to

La Junta, Colorado La Junta is a home rule municipality in, the county seat of, and the most populous municipality of Otero County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,322 at the 2020 United States census. La Junta is located on the Arkansa ...

. The line is mostly single track, with short segments of double track at Newton and

. The line is dispatched from the BNSF control center located in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

. The methods of control are Centralized traffic control between Ellinor and CP 2206, and Track warrant control and automated block signal between CP 2206 and Las Animas Junction. The

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

Southwest Chief The ''Southwest Chief'' (formerly the ''Southwest Limited'' and ''Super Chief'') is a Amtrak Long Distance, long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak on a route between Chicago and Los Angeles through the Midwest and American Southwest ...

'' passenger train uses the La Junta Subdivision on daily basis. About 6 to 7 trains pass in the western region of the La Junta Subdivision, mainly agricultural and mixed freight. Most traffic is routed over the Boise Subdivision. Other traffic in the eastern half of the line is mostly intermodal and busier traffic. Occasionally other trains are rerouted on the line as well.

Connections to other railroads

The La Junta Subdivision connects with

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

at Peabody, Newton and at Hutchinson, all three in

. There are connections with

Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad The Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad is a shortline railroad operating in the Midwestern United States. It is entirely located in Kansas and, despite its name, owns no trackage in Oklahoma. Overview The KO is a subsidiary of Watco, which took over ...

at Newton and Hutchinson, as well as a discontinued connection at Kinsley, all three in

. The line also connects with Garden City Western Railway in

Garden City, Kansas Garden City is a city in and the county seat of Finney County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 28,151. The city is home to Garden City Community College and the Lee Richa ...

. The

uses the La Junta Subdivision under

trackage rights Railway companies can interact with and control others in many ways. These relationships can be complicated by bankruptcies. Operating Often, when a railroad first opens, it is only a short spur of a main line. The owner of the spur line may c ...

agreement between Ellinor and Control-Point (CP) 2206.

Sources

{{reflist BNSF Railway lines Rail infrastructure in Colorado Rail infrastructure in Kansas