An environmental study is being seen as the next step in the long-planned building of a new freight rail line that would slice through a portion of northwestern New Mexico.
The environmental study will be done under the auspices of the National Environmental Protection Act.
What is being called the Four Corners Rail Project would see the building of a route to be connected to an existing Burlington Northern Santa Fe network. In late July, San Juan County announced that a feasibility study had confirmed the technical and economic viability of the project.
More specifically, according to State of New Mexico documents, the 100-mile-long line would run along U.S. Route 491 and New Mexico State Road 37, while also traversing a portion of Navajo Nation land.
The project has been in the talking stage for more than a decade, with the initial price tag thought to be somewhere between $200 million to $300 million. That figure has since ballooned to $1 billion.
Supporters of the new line say it could prove particularly important in transporting fertilizers, minerals, equipment and supplies, as well as metals used for the construction of hydrogen generators.
Last October the federal Department of Transportation announced it was awarding a $4 million grant for preliminary engineering and an analysis of potential routes to San Juan County for the building of a portion of the line that would stretch from Farmington to Gallup.
According to published reports, the initial design phase of the project could be completed by early 2027.
August 26, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of Pixabay
