Rail Traffic North of Albuquerque, NM - Trains Magazine

I'd venture to guess that there will never be rail service between Denver and Albuquerque.  There's no market for it and the stretch between Raton and Trinidad is so steep that even Amtrak takes an hour to cover those 20 miles.

ATSF offered rail service from Chicago to LA, via Albuquerque along the northern route in New Mexico and was considered to be outstanding passenger service.  Having ridden on the Super Chief growing up, I can attest to that.  ATSF never went through Denver.

Denver and Rio Grande Western operated the Rio Grande Zephyr along the route from Denver to Salt Lake, going through some of the most beautiful country in the US.  In 1988 it purchased the Southern Pacific and eventually merged with the Union Pacific.  The California Zephyr runs along that route from Chicago to San Francisco.

When ATSF and BNSF merged, it gave BNSF other trackage in eastern New Mexico, where it runs north/south freight over instead of the steep grades from Albuquerque to Raton.  The only train that runs north of Lamy, New Mexico, is the Southwest Chief so there is no reason why BNSF wants to maintain that trackage for two trains a day.  

The latest I've heard is that Colorado, New Mexico, and Kansas will probably figure out a way to pay BNSF to keep the line open but I don't think it will be decided until next year.  I'll keep the group posted as news becomes available.