The is a
Commuter Rail system serving the metropolitan area of
Albuquerque, New Mexico . Scheduled to begin operation in July
2006 , Phase I will operate on an existing
BNSF Railway right of way from
Belen to
Bernalillo . Phase II, scheduled to open in
2008 , will extend the line northward to
Santa Fe .
Rolling stock, which includes
MPI MP36PH-3C diesel-electric
Locomotive s and
Bombardier BiLevel Coach es, has already been delivered, and groundbreaking for the first Rail Runner station took place on
November 1 ,
2005 .
The name "Rail Runner" is a play the name of New Mexico's
State Bird , the
Roadrunner . The association with the road runner is meant to evoke images of rapid movement.
Phase I of the commuter rail line includes nine stations. From north to south, they are
Various alternatives are under consideration for the extension of the line to Santa Fe. Using the existing BNSF track, which is filled with sharp curves, would require the train to slow to 15 miles per hour (24 km/h) in some places, so new tracks will need to be laid to produce travel times comparable to the automobile.
The Central New Mexico corridor, which is home to half the state's population, is anchored by Santa Fe (the
State Capital ) and Albuquerque (the largest city and economic hub). The two cities are connected by a single four-lane
Interstate Highway ,
I-25 , and a two-lane country road, New Mexico State Route 14. Within the Albuquerque metro area, northern
Rio Rancho and the urbanized parts or
Valencia County are separated from Albuquerque by Native American
Pueblo s. In fact, there are seven Pueblos along the entire corridor, making the addition of new roadways or the expansion or current capacity unlikley.
The high real-estate prices in Santa Fe mean that many of the people who work there must commute from Albuquerque or
Rio Rancho . Furthermore, the capital is home to many of the state's cultural institutions and tourist attractions, and most out-of-state visitors are forced to make the 60-mile journey from the Sunport by car. Commute times are expected to increase 80% on some routes by 2025, making the introduction of additional forms of transportation a priority to local governments.
Critics of the Rail Runner system believe that the funds being used for this project would be better spent widening
Interstate 25 from Santa Fe to Tramway in Albuquerque and also widening I-25 south of the
Albuquerque International Sunport to Belen.
