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Gov Bill Richardson pushed for a rail line to connect Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Last year it made $2.8M in fares, cost $28.4M to run. This is a microcosm of all commuter rail. Even the commuter rail in the northeast runs on a subsidy.
The article doesn't mention the $12 million revenue from track use fees to freight train companies.
Bnsf owns the tracks. Track usage isn't free.
History lesson. Atcheson, Topeka and Santa Fe, ATSF, railroad owned the right of way through Santa Fe. Former Great Northern Railway and Burlington system merged in 1970 and became Burlington Northern or BN. 1991 BN purchased ATSF and became BNSF. All the right of way and trackage became the property of BNSF and became second largest rail system behind Union Pacific.
History lesson. Atcheson, Topeka and Santa Fe, ATSF, railroad owned the right of way through Santa Fe. Former Great Northern Railway and Burlington system merged in 1970 and became Burlington Northern or BN. 1991 BN purchased ATSF and became BNSF. All the right of way and trackage became the property of BNSF and became second largest rail system behind Union Pacific.
New Mexico Rail Runner Express - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
After assessing the needs of the track, the state of New Mexico committed to purchasing the railroad corridor from Belen to the New Mexico-Colorado border from BNSF (although, thus far only the portion between Belen and Lamy, NM has been purchased), to ensure that commuter trains would always get the right-of-way and have priority over freight trains in the corridor. NMDOT considers whether Rail Runner worth cost | New Mexico News - KOAT Home
Meyers said Rail Runner also gets federal funding, along with state grants. That is in addition to about $12 million in gross receipts tax, and usage fees from the major railroad companies.
From the article: The average fare is $2.47, compared with the average trip length of 40.7 miles. Some time ago the IRS determined that the average operating cost for a car was >.50 a mile. If we simply charged train riders the same rate that drivers pay ($20 a trip), it sounds like the financial burden on the tax payer would be eliminated. Why would that be hard to do?
Quote:
The average fare is $2.47, compared with the average trip length of 40.7 miles. That adds up to 6 cents per passenger mile. A 2011 Department of Transportation study of several train systems around the country found the rates to be among the lowest.
Meanwhile, the costs are rising. On top of operating costs, the state is paying about $28 million a year in debt for the train until 2024, and will have to shell out $112 million in 2025 and 2026 in balloon payments. Taxpayers also are on the hook for nearly $493 million in infrastructure for the rail line. The Department of Transportation estimates the total debt repayment over 20 years, including principal and interest, works out to nearly $784 million.
"I don't know how we're going to deal with it in those (balloon payment) years," Transportation Secretary Tom Church said. "There's no silver bullet."
OK, yeah, that's wrong. The real costs are far, far higher. Maybe raise fairs to $100 for the 40 mile trip? WOuld that cover it?
The real question is who is going to be held responsible for this financial clusterflop? The utter incompetence of the officials involved leaves the taxpayers of the state holding the bag, potentially for years. Someone should be in prison. Follow the money. I will lay you odds that a campaign donor or crony of elected officials made an absolute killing off this.
From the article: The average fare is $2.47, compared with the average trip length of 40.7 miles. Some time ago the IRS determined that the average operating cost for a car was >.50 a mile. If we simply charged train riders the same rate that drivers pay ($20 a trip), it sounds like the financial burden on the tax payer would be eliminated. Why would that be hard to do?
OK, yeah, that's wrong. The real costs are far, far higher. Maybe raise fairs to $100 for the 40 mile trip? WOuld that cover it?
The real question is who is going to be held responsible for this financial clusterflop? The utter incompetence of the officials involved leaves the taxpayers of the state holding the bag, potentially for years. Someone should be in prison. Follow the money. I will lay you odds that a campaign donor or crony of elected officials made an absolute killing off this.
Likely.
It's also a pretty big give-away to the riders. A 40 mile train trip for $2.47 is an insane deal. Maybe they are hoping the users and people who own nearby property vote based on gratitude for and desire to maintain it whereas more diffuse taxpayers elsewhere don't single-issue vote on it.
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