On the right track' -- New Mexico buys railroad's right of way for commuter project

By Julie Ann Grimm - The New Mexican

January 8, 2005

The railroads tracks between Santa Fe and Lamy came under public ownership Friday after state officials clenched a deal that is expected to hasten the arrival of a commuter rail in New Mexico.

The 18 miles of track, along with the land under and beside them, was formerly owned by Santa Fe Southern Railway and will continue to be used for excursion and freight travel for now. By the spring of 2008, Gov. Bill Richardson vows that part of the now state-owned tracks also will be used for commuter trains that will shuttle workers and visitors between Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

"We're on the right track," cracked the governor "Get it?"

The inter-city trains won't travel on the entire line, however, said Transportation Secretary Rhonda Faught. That's because the curving tracks near Lamy intersect with the tracks from Albuquerque at a point that is out of the way for an economical and speedy trip between the cities.

Faught said the state expects to build at least 14 miles of new track to get trains up the steep La Bajada hill near Interstate-25 and Cochití Dam. The exact route of the new alignment has not been determined yet, she said. Some alternatives being considered include building new tracks on abandoned rail lines on either side of the interstate, or going right up the highway median.

New Mexico owns the Lamy line following a yearslong negotiation between Santa Fe Southern investors, the Trust for Public Land and city of Santa Fe. Richardson announced the acquisition at a news conference just a few hours after the trust closed the sale and conveyed the rail right of way to the state. Federal grants secured by the state's congressional delegation and flowing through the city paid for $5.4 million of the purchase; the state put up the remaining $4.6 million.

"We believe in urban revitalization," said Deb Fry Love of the Trust for Public Land. "The state buying this rail line will ensure that commuter rail will come all the way into the heart of our downtown area."

The public acquisition also promises to be a good deal for the newly formed North Central Regional Transit District, which started meeting in November. Group members include area pueblos, the city and county of Santa Fe, Los Alamos County, the city of Española and others. It aims to devise a funding strategy to take control of the railway and is looking for an executive director who will work to secure money from federal, state and other sources for such regional projects.

District Chairman James Rivera, a Pojoaque Pueblo councilman, said the first step in that process is assuming responsibility for another existing state program - Northern New Mexico Park and Ride, a bus service between Santa Fe, Los Alamos, Pojoaque and Albuquerque that has been in place for more than a year.

Secretary Faught said the park and ride has been very successful and should be proof that there are people who want to use public transportation between the cities.

The transit district also could pursue bringing passenger trains from Eldorado into Santa Fe.

While it will be at least four years before passenger trains from Albuquerque roll into Santa Fe, cars and locomotives are on order for a new service between Belen and Bernalillo that should start running this fall. Richardson said Tuesday he also wants the Transportation Department to look at how to extend train service north to Española and Taos and south to Las Cruces.

State-owned railroad - The state of New Mexico plans to use railroad tracks, formerly owned by Santa Fe Southern Railway, to bring a commuter-train service from Albuquerque to Santa Fe with another leg connecting Santa Fe to Eldorado.

Length of line: 18 miles
Cost: $10 million
When commuter rail is expected to start: Spring 2008
Source: State Transportation Department