New Mexico Rail Runner Express

The central New Mexico corridor, which is home to half the state’s population, contains Santa Fe, the state capital, and Albuquerque, the largest city and economic hub of New Mexico. The two cities are connected by I-25, an increasingly congested four-lane rural freeway that roughly parallels the route of the Rail Runner. Alternate routes are longer or otherwise constraining. Within Albuquerque's metropolitan area, the heavily urbanized parts of Valencia county are separated from Albuquerque by Isleta Pueblo. Another four Native American pueblos are traversed by the Interstate Highway to Santa Fe, making the addition of new roadways or the expansion of current capacity financially and politically challenging.[15]

The high real-estate prices in Santa Fe mean that many of the people who work there commute from the Albuquerque metro area. Furthermore, the capital is home to many of the state’s cultural institutions and tourist attractions, and most out-of-state visitors are forced to make the 60-mile journey from the Albuquerque International Sunport by car. As the population of the region grows, commute times are expected to increase 80% on some routes by 2025, making the introduction of additional forms of transportation a priority to local governments.[16]

The cost of the Rail Runner system was $135 million for the first phase and around $250 million for the second phase.[17] Preliminary estimates indicated that the service would operate at a deficit, requiring up to $10 million in government funding annually.[18] In late 2007, the Rail Runner was the subject of more criticism as a transportation funding shortfall left many state road projects stalled. State officials said the rising cost of construction materials and decreased federal support were the cause, but some lawmakers cited the cost of the Rail Runner as a contributing factor for the shortfall.[19] Supporters of Rail Runner funding note that roadways and other infrastructure for passenger cars also operate at a deficit, requiring government funding for construction, operation, and maintenance.[20]

The capital costs of the Rail Runner project were covered by state and local funds.

Funding for operations of the system in its first few years was covered largely by federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) Program funds, along with ticket revenues and some state and local funds. Operational costs were expected to rise from $10 million for the first phase to $20 million after completion of the second phase.[21]

Federal funding for the Rail Runner is expected to stop in 2009, and without sufficient funds from other sources would leave funding for the operational and maintenance costs for the system up in the air. To prevent a funding shortfall, local and state governments began looking into possible taxes in the counties the Rail Runner serves. Two separate gross receipts taxes for regional transit were approved by voters in central and north-central New Mexico in November 2008 and will cover a large portion of the operational funds of the Rail Runner. Additional funds will also come from bond revenue and money appropriated by the New Mexico State Legislature.[22]

Rail Runner locomotive

On service between Albuquerque and Bernalillo, fares were initially free to attract ridership. On its first day of service, the Rail Runner carried 4,122 passengers. During the initial free period, ridership averaged 4,000 to 4,500 riders per day with a one-day peak of 6,000 riders.[24] Ridership gradually declined during the weeks of free service.[25] Ridership averaged 2,500 to 3,000 riders per day in August 2006, and 2,100 to 2,500 riders per day in September 2006.

In November 2006, free service ended on the line's Sandoval section, and ridership fell to 1,000 passengers per day. When the Los Lunas and Belen stations opened with free service, ridership rose to around 1,800 passengers per day. Free service on the Belen section of the line ended April 1, 2007, and a new zone fare structure went into effect. During the summer of 2007, ridership averaged 2,500 passengers per day. By April 2008, weekly ridership was 9,600.[26]

On December 17, 2008, service to Santa Fe started with a three-month period of free service for Santa Fe County residents and three weekends of free service for the whole system. The original 2005 projected ridership for a slightly different (but similar speed) Phase II route to Santa Fe was 2,954 daily riders.[27] During the first full week of train service between the two cities, more than 33,000 passengers boarded. On the second Saturday of service to Santa Fe, nearly 12,000 people boarded trains between Belen and Santa Fe.[28] Weekend service, which was to be discontinued after the first three weekends of service to Santa Fe, was instead partly retained, with permanent Saturday service.[29] Ridership for the first few weeks of Santa Fe service averaged about 5,000 riders per day, then dropped to an average of around 4,000 riders per day for the month of January 2009.[30]

Ridership continued to increase through 2010, reaching a peak of 1.24 million passengers annually (4,000 on an average weekday). Since then, passenger numbers have continued to decline year-over-year to a low of under 750,000 in 2019.[31][23] Government analysts blamed the drop in ridership on low gas prices, infrequent service, and long travel times, and recommended that the state focus on making the service more competitive with car travel. It was also suggested that service to the Downtown Bernalillo station be reduced or eliminated due to low ridership.[32]

The current weekday schedule is 11 northbound trains. Three trains from Belen-Santa Fe stop at all stations, while a morning express train skips over Sandia Pueblo and Downtown Bernalillo. Three trains depart Belen-Albuquerque, and four trains depart Albuquerque-Santa Fe. Rio Metro operates a bus from Belen to Albuquerque in the morning that makes stops at each Rail Runner station.[33]

The Saturday schedule has four northbound trains from Belen-Santa Fe throughout the day, and one final train in the evening from Belen-Albuquerque. Trains stop at all stations. The Sunday schedule has three Belen-Santa Fe trips, also stopping at all stations.[34][35]

The weekday schedule heading south has a total of 11 trains. There are four trains from Santa Fe-Belen, three trains that make all stops from Santa Fe-Albuquerque, an evening express train that makes limited stops from Santa Fe-Albuquerque, and three trains from Albuquerque-Belen. Rio Metro operates an express bus from Sandoval County/US 550 to Downtown Albuquerque in the morning, and another bus from Albuquerque to Belen, making all stops at Rail Runner stations.[33]

Saturday trains are scattered throughout the day, with three trains from Santa Fe-Belen, two trains from Albuquerque-Belen, and a final evening train from Santa Fe-Albuquerque. Sunday trains are also limited, with two Santa Fe-Belen trains, one Albuquerque-Belen train in the morning, and a final evening train from Santa Fe-Albuquerque.[34][35]

During government holidays, the Rail Runner will either operate on a regular schedule, a Saturday schedule, or will have no service. Days surrounding holidays (such as Christmas) will usually see normal weekday service.[36] Special schedules, such as the New Mexico Wine Festival, will use a Saturday schedule, but with added trains.[37] The Balloon Fiesta is another event in which the Rail Runner does not add extra trains, but provides free shuttles to riders from the Los Ranchos/Journal Center Station to Balloon Fiesta Park and back.[38]

For four months in 2009, Rail Runner operated game-day trains to sporting events to Lobo Station. After a cumulative total of 227 passengers made use of Lobo, the game-day train service was discontinued and Lobo Station was permanently abandoned.[39]

The cost of Rail Runner tickets is based on the number of zones the rider will be travelling through. There are a total of six zones. Tickets can be purchased online at a discount, and then printed or sent to a phone (E-Ticket), which will be scanned by a hand-held reader by a Rail Runner agent. Tickets can also be purchased on the train using cash or certain types of credit cards. In addition to the reduced fare, which is available to 10-17 year-olds; students with a valid student ID; seniors 62 years or older; individuals on medicare with proper identification; and people with disabilities.[40] Additionally, there are special promotions throughout the year, such as seniors riding for free every Wednesday through the summer.[41]

Tickets that were printed at home or on the train are eligible to receive free transfers to ABQ RIDE, Rio Metro RTD, North Central RTD, Santa Fe Trails, and Santa Fe Pick up. E-Tickets are not accepted on buses.

Other stations within the current route have been proposed, and some have been approved.

A station has been proposed by tribal leaders and state government in San Felipe Pueblo.[46]

The Environmental Assessment for Phase II considered placement of a station between Cerrillos Road and Richards Avenue in the I-25 Median; it concluded that there was not yet enough demand, but recommended that it be considered for the future. Currently, a proposed station near the Las Soleras development has been approved and is now under study.[47]

An extension northward to Taos has been discussed, however a memorandum to study the feasibility of doing so died in the 2009 New Mexico State Legislative Session.[48] There is now a shuttle service from Taos to the Santa Fe Rail Runner stations.

Extension of the Rail Runner south to Las Cruces and El Paso has also been discussed. A memorandum to study the feasibility of such service was introduced and was amended to study Las Cruces-El Paso service, but failed to pass in the New Mexico Legislature.[49] A house resolution was introduced by Congressman Harry Teague in May 2009 to study the concept. However, this resolution never came out of committee and by default was cleared from the Congressional books.[50]