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Those comics are great. I was wondering if you guys had the density for such an endeavor. Densely populated and New Mexico don’t seem to match. You claim you don’t, OK. A great thing about cars as they have mobile climate control meaning you don’t sweat/freeze a lot like you do when walking. I thought north NM was fairly temperate and arid so you don’t get rained on a lot which is another walking nuisance. Also, I’m assuming you guys have some restricting geography, mountain walls, that limit your sprawl and cause you to pack in a little more. In short, rail could really work for you guys but yes it is pricey.

There are two issues regarding the railroad here. First, Richardson bought the entire BNSF mainline from Belen to the Colorado state line. He upgraded the north-south line from Belen to Bernalillo to carry high-speed passenger traffic. That is the part of the line currently operating with about 2,500 passengers per day. Unfortunately, the main population concentration is east-west, which doesn’t have a railroad and is limited by the mountains to the east and the high desert to the west.

The north-south line doesn’t have much potential for growth because to the north the Sandia and Santa Ana pueblos and to the south the Isleta pueblo divide the line. Also, though the line stops in downtown ABQ, most business except for local government is located elsewhere and walking is not an option except for a few blocks to government offices. Current fares are $2 each way or $3 round trip, for a fare recovery of less than 10%.

The line to Santa Fe is a different issue and requires 14 miles of new construction up a 700 ft. cliff and along existing 75 mph I-25, which does not have a capacity problem north of Bernalillo (the segment deferred for re-construction so that Richardson can build his railroad). He is rushing construction so that it can be in operation in Dec 2008 (in time for his inauguration as president /sarc) and has let expensive contracts that no doubt have expensive cancellation clauses. The RR will serve mainly touristas (though most drive in or if flying, rent cars) and state government types who live in ABQ and commute daily to SF in state government vans.

This is New Mexico’s version of Al Gore’s human-caused global warming — a big scam that is costing us dearly and will lead to increased fatalities on highways which are mostly narrow two-lane and out of date.

Maybe you missed this little bit of the article

Faught disputes critics who say the Rail Runner project, which will ultimately run from Belen to Santa Fe, has contributed to the shortfall. "It's inflation and it's a lack of federal funds," Faught said in an interview.

Not only does King Bill want tax money from us here in NM but he wants money for his train from your pocket as well.