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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...