Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I live in Santa Fe and there has never been an easy way to get home from ABQ. If I take the shuttle I have to then catch a cab in town and then to my house(makes for exhausting day) if I come in too late for the shuttle I have to rent a car and then pay ridic prices particularly if I want to return it in Santa Fe. I had hopes with the Rail Runner but with infrequent service to the airport by bus and no direct connection it is pretty useless for airport travelers--shame for all the money spent on this thing and in my opinion totally stoooopid.
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
10,749 posts, read 23,819,647 times
Reputation: 14665
How's Rail Runner working out lately?
I've read a few articles of talk, and probably nothing substantially more than talk in years to come of Rail Runner expansion to Taos and Las Cruces. Eons away that may be down the road, no doubt next generation would likely to embrace such a project. In past threads there seems a lot of cynicism towards Rail Runner, which to me is another run of the mill government project with cost overruns and such (hence tea party). I'm wondering with a sluggish economy and priorities elsewhere besides mass transit if with increasing fuel costs that anybody is more mindful of riding it. Or is it too slow, or inconvenient and worth using the extra gas money instead? I also wonder if urban infill development is being eyed by property developers near rail stations. I know the train is a relatively new animal, but for its short history the train sure does go a long way from Belen to Santa Fe, impressive for such a lightly populated state. So in summary how do you see Rail Runner in the future, or even the present?
I hope they expand service to Socorro in the near future. The tracks are already there (BNSF Railroad) so only a station and parking lot would be needed.
I hope they expand service to Socorro in the near future. The tracks are already there (BNSF Railroad) so only a station and parking lot would be needed.
Many stations don't even have parking lots, though it'd be a plus to have that.
A Socorro extension wouldn't be quite that simple. BNSF has a major junction south of the last current station in Belen, which has a huge amount of E-W traffic. BNSF was only too happy to get rid of the part it sold the state, and though they'd probably feel the same way about the portion from the junction southward, significant upgrades would probably be required to ensure their day-to-day operations wouldn't significantly be disrupted by fast-moving passenger trains getting (or worse, not getting) priority.
There's also special signalization required, which is one reason why rail runner service was limited to one track in stretches, even though more than one track exists on the right of way. So that's more expense.
I agree that an extension to Socorro would be more useful and less expensive than even the first new mile of northward track from the Santa Fe terminus, but the ridership to/from Socorro would be very light: we're talking a town and county that has a population barely over 10,000, and perhaps only a couple dozen daily commuters to points north.
Given the current economic situation, most talk of service expansion had better wait, lest the projects with an unequivocally positive effect on the bottom line (Montaño Rd station) get pushed even further off.
I was at a sustainability fair at UNM today, there was a RailRunner table where they were giving out freebies like foldable paper models of the train. Got mine!
I think the RailRunner is an important investment in the future. The population of the Rio Grande Valley and Santa Fe is projected to grow by leaps and bounds, and more people will be opting for less car-dependency. I never heard mention of it connecting to Taos, however. Are you sure? I heard about eventual extentions to El Paso and Denver, going through Raton Pass. I think they even ran the train once up to Raton for promotional purposes, can't remember if they took it south of Belen.
I have used the train several times to go to Santa Fe from ABQ for free museum Fridays and dinner near the Plaza. But far more often when going to Santa Fe I drive, since the train is slower than driving and having a car obviously provides more flexibility with schedule and getting places far from the depot. While riding the train I sometimes informally poll people in the seats opposite me about why they chose the train instead of driving. I am surprised to hear things like "I don't drive" from college students. Today at the RailRunner table at UNM, I heard someone visiting the table say, "I gave up my car, so I take the bus and the train everywhere." I think as these different transit options continue to grow and interconnect, certain people will naturally gravitate to them and away from their cars.
Driving to Santa Fe for me takes about an hour. The train takes at least an hour and a half, not including driving to the station. So that's more than an hour total added to the round trip. Of course on the train you can read, play on your laptop, meet different people, or even catch up on sleep, so it's not a waste. There has been mention of adding some express trains that won't stop at every station to give people a quicker option.
An older 2009 article, and cost prohibitive presently, but perhaps planting the seeds, in 10, 15, or 20 years perhaps. This line would have a stop in Espanola also. Wiki's listing on Rail Runner also briefly mentions expansions ideas to Taos and Las Cruces.
I do notice a trend in certain C-D threads back in 2008 when gas prices spiked; rail transit suddenly became such an enlightening idea and was a big topic of discussion, only a couple years later falls by the wayside with a lot of fiscal conservative opposition, mainly cost overruns.
Last edited by Champ le monstre du lac; 04-21-2011 at 02:18 PM..
I think far more important for improving ridership is increasing average speeds. Antiquated tracks and crossings that can't safely accommodate more than 55mph make the train the lesser option to driving. For every 10min you take off the round trip, you'll see a commensurate increase in ridership.
(Also, the average roundtrip decreases even more significantly when rail stations are conveniently located to homes and businesses). Opening up the Zia Rd and Montaño Rd stations will boost ridership significantly.
The RailRunner was former Gov. Bill Richardson's baby. It only exists because it had a governor who backed it, it was built in the giddy days before the economy tanked, and there was federal funding. We've lost the supportive governor and some (all?) of the federal funding. Schedules have been scaled back. And with the economic downturn many are more vocal in their opposition to the expense of the train. So I think extensions to other communities like Taos will be a long way off. Track exists to Las Vegas through to Raton, though. I don't know how it would get to Taos, I don't see the train plowing through downtown Santa Fe from the current depot location.
And to your earlier question about development by stations, yes, most significantly at the Santa Fe Railyard, I'm not sure about other locations. There is infill development planned in ABQ downtown (apartments and condos) near the Alvarado hub.
Did you ride it while you were here? What did you think?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
How's Rail Runner working out lately?
