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It's birthday time for the Rail Runner Express commuter rail service — today marks the first anniversary of the train's service between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Officials say that since the Santa Fe service started, the train has carried 1,372,000 passengers, a daily average of about 4,400. But fares still don't account for much of the Rail Runner's operating budget. Rail Runner spokeswoman Augusta Meyers said out of last fiscal year's $21 million operating budget for the train, about $1.9 million came from ticket sales. Most of the money, about $17 million, was from the federal government's Congestion Mitigation and...

The New Mexico Rail Runner is about to celebrate another milestone — 2 million riders in less than three years of service. ~~snip~~ Officials say the Rail Runner ... currently carries an average of about 4,500 commuters a day between Belen and Santa Fe.

The Rail Runner Express commuter train service would get a police force of its own under a bill approved Saturday by the state Senate. The measure from Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque, would authorize the Rail Runner transit districts to hire law officers who would patrol rail-line stations, parking areas and at least some of the commuter trains that roll six days a week between Belen and Santa Fe. The certified, armed train officers would wear distinctive badges and uniforms and "have the powers of peace officers on all property, tracks, rights of way, easements, vehicles, buses, vans, railcars, locomotives and...

ABQ Journal video: Ride the Rail Runner with Dan Mayfield(Works only in my IE Browser, not Firefox version 2)

The House approved non-binding measures Thursday requesting the Department of Transportation to study the feasibility of extending commuter rail from Santa Fe to Taos and from Santa Fe to Las Vegas and Raton. Also endorsed was a non-binding measure for a feasibility study of establishing commuter rail service between El Paso, Texas, and Las Cruces, the second largest city in the state.

Three-thousand-six-hundred horse power beats one cow power any day, to which Rail Runner Express locomotive engineers can attest. Because since the state's commuter train started running to Santa Fe in mid-December, at least five track-crossing cows have been bumped off by the rail carrier in that corridor. And, while train overseers and interested landowners like Santo Domingo Pueblo have forged an agreement to buffer the beef, the issue probably won't meander away. "It's likely not ever going to stop completely because — I don't know if you've ever dealt with cows. When they have a desire to do something, a...

The Rail Runner route to Santa Fe has been convenient for commuters, but it has also been convenient for thieves. Crooks have been targeting cars parked at the Rail Runner's Los Ranchos Station ever since the train began commuting to Santa Fe last month. "Since the Rail Runner started continuing service to Santa Fe, we've had four or five break-ins in this particular station and one vehicle theft," said Detective Bill Webb.

Weekday Rail Runner ridership has dipped by about 1,000 a day since Jan. 5 — the post-holiday season — but operators say a true gauge of daily use probably won't emerge for some time. Daily passenger boarding numbers provided by the Mid-Region Council of Governments also show, as might be expected, that the stations at Downtown Albuquerque, Los Ranchos/Journal Center, Sandoval County/U.S. 550 and the two in Santa Fe are the most used. The numbers also show that on weekdays this month, there are close to 90 bicycle boardings a day. With the Santa Fe leg of service opening Dec....

Taking pictures on most pueblos has been prohibited for decades. And that has prompted Rail Runner officials to ask its riders turn off their cameras on pueblo land. The train conductor lets riders know to put their cameras away on Santo Domingo and San Felipe land. Rail Runner officials say the pueblos made that request. The Isleta and Sandia pueblos have not asked the conductor to have riders put away their cameras. "I think it goes back years and years ago when a lot of folks from other parts of the country would come in and take photos of the...

The state's commuter train will run between Rio Grande Valley communities around Albuquerque to Santa Fe on Saturdays. The Rail Runner operated — with free fares — for three Saturdays and Sundays over the holiday period after service to Santa Fe was inaugurated Dec. 17. More than 60,000 people have boarded the train between Belen and Santa Fe since service to the capital city began, Rail Runner officials said. Voters in parts of New Mexico approved a tax in November to help fund Rail Runner operations. But that tax doesn't go into effect until July 1.

A Massachusetts-based company has sued to stop the state Department of Transportation and the Mid-Region Council of Governments from using the “Rail Runner” name, which it uses for the state-owned commuter train, and for damages related to "trademark infringement."

Gov. Bill Richardson and his entourage lived like VIPs in Boston back in 2004, when Democrats gathered for their national convention. High-end hotels. A big tab for an event at a pub on Canal Street. An even bigger bill with Lifestyle Transportation, which bills itself as "Boston's premier limousine service." The governor, who chaired the convention, has said his expenses were paid by the convention and the Democratic Governors Association. For others in his group, it was large living financed in part by a political committee whose biggest contributor is at the center of a federal investigation that derailed Richardson's...

Another week, another record broken. The Rail Runner gave more than 12,000 people a lift Saturday, breaking the single day ridership records for the second time in two weeks, Mid-Region Council of Governments spokeswoman Augusta Meyers said Sunday. MRCOG operates the Rail Runner. But the record-setting days ought to be over by today, Rail Runner officials have said, now that trains won't offer any more free rides.

OBAMA-BUST: Bill Richardson will withdraw as Commerce secretary... Developing...

It was standing room only on the Rail Runner to Santa Fe on Sunday — and that was for those lucky enough to get on the train. Middle Rio Grande Council of Governments Executive Director Lawrence Rael said a crowd of "well over" 5,000 people riding the new train service caused delays of 30-45 minutes. Some people had to wait for later trains as the Rail Runner filled up before all the waiting passengers could board at some stations, he said. "It's a good problem to have, to have so many people riding the train," Rael said. But "we're concerned...

Delayed trains and other issues discouraged passengers, and traffic signals continued to puzzle drivers in Santa Fe on the second day of New Mexico Rail Runner Express service to the city. Malfunctioning track-side signals slowed down trains Thursday morning, and that — coupled with delays they experienced the day before — caused some commuters to leave train stations in their cars and use the interstate instead. Among them was Gary Smith, who took a car full of would-be train riders with him. "I was an hour late for work yesterday, ... and I was on the train that hit the...

A southbound Rail Runner commuter train was halted for about 20 minutes Wednesday night after striking a cow near San Felipe Pueblo , and morning delays from track-signal problems and missed bus connections plagued the commuter train on its first day of service between Santa Fe and Albuquerque. Passengers onboard a train that left a station near the state Department of Transportation headquarters about 5:22 p.m. reported the train screeched to a sudden halt at about 6:10 p.m., and emergency lighting came on in passenger cars. The conductor informed passengers over an intercom that the crew was investigating what the...

Delays from track-signal problems and missed bus connections plagued the first day of commuter train service between Santa Fe and Albuquerque. Many passengers, however, remained optimistic that the New Mexico Rail Runner Express would turn into a reliable transportation option. "You know, they are going to have kinks, so hopefully they will get them worked out, " said Marlene Benavidez, a Santa Fean who was late to her job with the Postal Service in Albuquerque on Wednesday morning as a result of the problems. Benavidez boarded the first south-bound train of the day just after 6 a.m., but that train...

"All aboard!" came a jovial voice on the train's loudspeaker "This is Governor Bill Richardson. Are you happy to be on the Rail Runner?" About 800 elected officials, government workers and others joined the governor in a cheer as they rode the inaugural New Mexico Rail Runner Express train between Santa Fe and Albuquerque on Monday morning. Several people brought their children along for the ride, including Santa Fe City Councilor Ronald Trujillo and his wife, Amber. Their kids, Hunter, 10, and Krystianna, 6, looked out the window as the train sliced through the snowy landscape. "I figured this is...

SANTA FE — Gov. Bill Richardson will be one of the first riders on the New Mexico Rail Runner Express' inaugural run to Santa Fe today.

Whether they want to commute, shop or drink, Santa Feans are studying train timetables in anticipation of the Rail Runner coming to town. The commuter train is set to begin running between Santa Fe and Albuquerque this month. The train's backers say it offers a rapid and reliable alternative to navigating around the turistas trying to find their way down St. Francis Drive or the smash-ups clogging Interstate 25 But before they climb aboard, many are wondering just how much time and money could really be saved by traveling by rail. For now, driving is still faster — just how...

And so it begins. The end of next week, the Rail Runner Express commuter rail to Santa Fe pulls out of the station for its inaugural run. Quite properly, it'll be a celebration loaded with meaning. By the time the one hour and 30 minute ride chugs into Santa Fe, we'll not only have taken a giant leap to the future, we'll honor the past as well. For the moment, let's take that leap forward. Say two decades. Is there anyone left who opposed this project who cannot acknowledge that, in one fell swoop, we have looked the future in...

The beginning of commuter train service between Santa Fe and metropolitan Albuquerque is promised for this month. Just exactly which day, however, is a question that officials are slow to answer. "We'd like to put a date out there, but we've got to get all our ducks in a row first," Augusta Meyers, communications manger for the Mid-Region Council of Governments, said Monday. "There is no official start date at this point, just a tentative, 'We're shooting for mid-December.' " The council of governments is on contract to plan the Rail Runner Express train for the state Department of Transportation....

Other than that Christmas Eve flight hauling gifts around the globe, perhaps there's no run more anticipated these days than the one set to start about two weeks from today. "This is the hottest ticket in town for the holidays, buddy," Lawrence Rael of the Mid-Region Council of Governments said. "Even Santa wants a ride." Mark your calendars: The Rail Runner Express commuter train's inaugural public run into Santa Fe is tentatively set to take place Friday, Dec. 12, with Wednesday, Dec. 17, expected to be the actual start of scheduled commuter service to and from the capital city. Thus...

The FBI is investigating how a California firm won a state consulting contract worth almost $1 million in connection with the massive GRIP transportation bond program. Agents have been interviewing people involved in awarding contracts to CDR Financial Products LLC, and are looking at its political contributions to political action committees established by Gov. Bill Richardson. The $1.6 billion GRIP bond program is one of the biggest in state history and has been used to pay for road improvements and the Rail Runner commuter train. GRIP stands for Governor Richardson's Investment Partnership and was approved by the Legislature during a...

Obstructed mountain views, increased traffic and parking headaches are just a few of the issues neighbors have with a proposed transit-oriented development near Zia Road and St. Francis Drive. Developer SF Brown faced a somewhat hostile crowd at the library of Capshaw Middle School during an early neighborhood-notification meeting Wednesday night. The local firm wants to spend the next 10-plus years building offices, retail space and rental condominiums on the 20 acres it owns on all sides of the intersection of Zia Road with Galisteo Road — where the state has promised to stop commuter trains. But for a number...

A ride between Downtown Albuquerque and the heart of Santa Fe would cost Rail Runner Express riders $6 one way or $8 round trip and would take about an hour and 20 minutes each way, under draft fare and schedule information released by the Mid-Region Council of Governments. The Santa Fe to Bernalillo leg of the commuter train service is expected to be in place by year's end. It will tie into the leg that now operates from Bernalillo to Belen with stops in Albuquerque. Under the proposed service schedule, eight northbound trains would pull into the capital city each...

Two Rail Runner Express tunnels completed under Interstate 25 and an overpass under way in La Cienega are not as tall as state rules require. But state officials say there will be no need to rebuild the tunnels — technically called box culverts — or the overpass because they are within the federal standards for passenger trains. The state standards were written in the 1950s for freight trains that use double-decked cars — and shouldn't apply to the Rail Runner track, which will carry only passenger trains, the officials say. The state Public Regulation Commission on Tuesday tabled a state...

A company in Massachusetts says it trademarked the name “Rail Runner” in the nineties. And now they want New Mexico to stop using it. "Rail Runner Incorporated filed what's called an opposition to the use of New Mexico Rail Runner on September 2, 2006 with the trademark trial and appeal board of the U.S Patent and Trade Mark Office," said a spokesman for the East Coast company. The company makes a machine that they say makes it easier to move containers from trains to semis. The East Coast company is now waiting for a decision from the patent and trademark...

The Santa Fe Southern Railway says state government's Rail Runner commuter train route is being built across a piece of land the state doesn't own. Santa Fe Southern, which operates a tourist train along the rail route through Santa Fe that is being converted for use by the Rail Runner, has filed suit against the state Department of Transportation saying the department intends to put Rail Runner tracks across a tract still owned by Santa Fe Southern. Santa Fe Southern sold its 18 miles of tracks and railroad right of way between downtown Santa Fe and Lamy to the state...

Plans for a sales tax to support the Rail Runner commuter train and a regional bus system are gaining steam. Bernalillo and Sandoval counties are to consider this week publishing a legal notice needed to put the one-eighth-cent tax on the Nov. 4 ballot. Valencia County might do the same, though perhaps not until next month. "I think the Rail Runner's time has come," said Alan Armijo, chairman of the Bernalillo County Commission. Voters "at least need the opportunity to decide that." The tax proposal must clear one more step before going to the counties — passage by the regional...

The Santa Fe City Council's decision to withhold approval of proposed traffic control measures for construction of the Rail Runner Express commuter train could have serious financial implications to the state, a project official said Wednesday. Councilors voted 6-2 Wednesday evening to postpone taking action on three measures dealing with infrastructure improvements needed to bring the Rail Runner to Santa Fe. Citing concerns over the scope of the state's responsibility for existing infrastructure deficiencies, several councilors said they want more information before taking up the issue again May 14. But state officials expressed frustration, pointing out after Wednesday's vote that...

Gov. Bill Richardson sat next to an emergency exit Wednesday as the Rail Runner Express train he was riding rolled past one of Santa Fe's busiest intersections and into the city's Railyard district. But five years after launching the plan to connect Santa Fe and Albuquerque by commuter train, Richardson wasn't about to abandon the train. "It's a reality," Richardson said of the project that's been both praised as a much-needed service and blasted as a costly pet project since being officially unveiled in 2003. Though state officials predict daily service in and out of Santa Fe won't begin for...

Mark Holmes has been riding the New Mexico Rail Runner Express since the initial service started in July 2006. After realizing how easy and convenient it was to use the train and bus, Holmes convinced his family to get rid of two of their three vehicles and rely on public transportation to get to appointments, school and work. During that time, he has saved enough money to take his entire family of six on two vacations. This year he told his family the cost savings would be enough to fly everyone to Puerto Rico. “I'm flying my whole family to...

The state is paying $2.8 million to private landowners to route the Rail Runner commuter train across their property near Santa Fe. About seven miles of track will be built on the undeveloped land on La Bajada Mesa south of Santa Fe. The train cuts across the private land before entering the median of Interstate 25 near a rest stop. The Department of Transportation is acquiring 179 acres of land from eight landowners for right of way for the commuter rail service, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. Most of the owners are partnerships. ~~snip~~ The right of...

When Bill Richardson returned to New Mexico from the U.S. presidential campaign trail in January, he was more than defeated; he was trounced. He got polite applause in the rotunda of our state Capitol when he boldly proclaimed, "I'm back." There were no brass bands, no parades, no streamers, no lines of admirers reaching for autographs.Richardson is back, but New Mexicans have come to know him well enough to recognize that he is back long enough only to wait for the next opportunity that might whisk him away to ... Washington, D.C., and beyond.~~snip~~ In truth, Richardson is doing all...

SANTA FE — To some lawmakers, the Rail Runner Express is the little engine that shouldn't — and they gave the Richardson administration an earful about it. Members of the Senate Rules Committee on Friday vented at a confirmation hearing for John Hummer of Las Cruces, Gov. Bill Richardson's appointee to the state Transportation Commission. The administration-created commuter rail system is running between Belen and Bernalillo — through Albuquerque — and is under construction to Santa Fe. The $400 million project has become a focal point for bipartisan criticism of the administration, with complaints that it won't reduce highway congestion...

SANTA FE— With no money to pay for them, New Mexico has indefinitely postponed $500 million worth of high-priority road projects. The biggest losers dollar-wise? The Navajo Nation, drivers on U.S. 54 in the central part of the state and users of U.S. 64 in northern New Mexico. Other losers include drivers jockeying for position on the crowded stretch of I-25 between Bernalillo and the Tramway exit at the north end of Albuquerque. All told, the state Transportation Commission has postponed 29 improvement projects involving 300 miles of roadway. "I'm sure we'll have everyone upset because these projects are not...

The state Department of Transportation has awarded a $115 million contract for extension of the Rail Runner Express commuter rail line into Santa Fe. The department said work is scheduled to start in September and is estimated to be finished in November 2008— about the same time frame projected in previous estimates. The contract went to a joint venture of Twin Mountain Construction II Co. and the HERZOG Group. Twin Mountain was involved in the reconstruction of the Big I interstate interchange and the Interstate 40-Coors interchange in Albuquerque. ~~ snip ~~ Phase II of the Rail Runner will extend...

Two years ago, the Paseo del Norte/Interstate 25/Jefferson corridor was a enough of a bad dream that the feds ponied up $20 million toward designing a fix. Two years later, negotiating the route has become a nightmare. Around 100,000 vehicles go through Paseo/I-25 daily. And two years later, there's still just $20 million in the Paseo-fix kitty— although rebuilding the interchange will run at least $200 million more than that. And two years later, there's still no definitive plan to rebuild the intersections, no environmental assessment, no right-of-way preservation, no timeline for construction. Maybe the New Mexico Department of Transportation's...

State Transportation Secretary Rhonda Faught announced Wednesday that a route along the Interstate I-25 median will be used to bring the New Mexico Rail Runner Express commuter train from Bernalillo to Santa Fe. The state, along with Santa Fe city and county officials, had been considering two routes to bring the train from the base of La Bajada to Santa Fe. In addition to the I-25 median route, an alignment that would have cut through the Santa Fe Community College district also was being considered. Faught said the I-25 route will have the least impact on communities while serving a...

SANTA FE— A northern route from Albuquerque for the New Mexico Rail Runner commuter train remains on hold. The Santa Fe Metropolitan Planning Organization, which comprises Santa Fe city and county officials, met Wednesday and was ready to recommend a route the train would take from Albuquerque to Santa Fe. But state Department of Transportation officials told committee members they first needed to get the approval of the state Department of Finance Administration to meet as a joint board. City and county officials were not aware that they did not have the authority to meet. Instead of making a decision,...

Completing both phases of the state commuter-train project will cost about $75 million more than what lawmakers have appropriated, a recent estimate shows. While New Mexico officials hope a federal grant will make up the difference, they're keeping quiet about how they would make up the shortfall if the cash doesn't materialize. Bonds pushed through the state Legislature two years ago by Gov. Bill Richardson gave the state Transportation Department $318 million to buy trains, tracks and stations for the state's Rail Runner Express. Last year, Congress authorized up to an additional $75 million for the project. But the federal...

SANTA FE— A new report recommends routing the Rail Runner commuter train along Interstate 25 from La Bajada to Santa Fe. Conducted for the State Transportation Department, the report found a route running along I-25 would serve more than twice the population than a second proposed route running southeast of Santa Fe. By 2030, the report concluded, an I-25 route would have "a much greater market potential." State officials hope to reach a decision in January on how the Rail Runner will approach Santa Fe, connecting to central New Mexico. Existing tracks would bring the commuter train from Bernalillo to...

SANTA FE— A development company associated with businessman Gerald Peters has been selected to design and build a new state Department of Transportation headquarters, Rail Runner commuter train station, hotel and other amenities on Cerrillos Road. SCS Development submitted the winning bid, allowing it to enter exclusive contract negotiations to redevelop the 25 acres where the Transportation Department has its headquarters at Cerrillos and Cordova, south of downtown. SCS is headed by Santa Fe Properties Development Co., which is associated with Peters, the Santa Fe art dealer, developer and friend of Gov. Bill Richardson. "It's just the beginning of a...

"New Mexico’s infatuation with costly rail projects will continue to burden the state’s economy with wasteful spending into the distant future. This reality was made clear earlier this year when Rep. Tom Davis (R., Va.) secured $1.5 billion in federal money for Washington’s Metro rail system, contingent on local governments raising taxes on their citizens to create a “dedicated revenue source” for that system." >Snip<

Reach for your remotes, pardners: Gov. Bill Richardson is wearing spurs, toting a six-gun and blazing away with Western movie cliches in his new re-election campaign ad. "Gimme a milk," growls Richardson, wearing a lawman's star on his vest as he strides into an Old West saloon in the TV ad. The ad touts progress on a bunch of issues during Richardson's tenure— including the governor's pet Rail Runner Express commuter train— and doesn't take a single crack at his Republican opponent, former state GOP chair John Dendahl. "This is a light-hearted way for the governor to talk about his...

Central New Mexico's commuter train marked its 100,000th rider today. University of New Mexico Hospital medical assistant Grace Quintero said she is a regular passenger who commutes to her job each day. ''It gets me to work on time, and there's no stress,'' she said. Quintero received New Mexico Rail Runner Express souvenirs, including a mug, keychain, poster and mouse pad. Lawrence Rael, executive director of the Mid-Region Council of Governments, said Quintero is a prime example of a commuter who knows how to make public transportation work. The Rail Runner began service between Albuquerque and Bernalillo on July 14....

SANTA FE— The cost of extending Rail Runner Express train service to Santa Fe was the most common concern voiced by the public during a hearing on possible routes up La Bajada to south of the capital city. Officials from the state Transportation Department and the Mid-Region Council of Governments met Wednesday to solicit feedback on possible routes for the commuter rail. Chris Blewett, project manager for the Mid-Region Council of Governments, said state officials will select a preferred route within the next month or two. "We're working on costs to these alternatives, and that's part of the second phase,"...

The railroad company that sold the state a $75 million rail line for Gov. Bill Richardson's Rail Runner Express commuter train gave $50,000 this year to a national political group Richardson leads. The BNSF Railway Co. also has contributed $7,500 to Richardson's re-election campaign since late last year, records show. Richardson campaign manager Amanda Cooper said political donations play no role in Richardson's state-policy decisions.This is the same defense that former State True sure Robert Vigil (D) is using in his pay to play scandal. For those who are not aware Robert Vigil is facing numerous charges including Racketeering where...