Fed Money Keeps Train Plans Rolling; City to Start Getting Commuter Cars by August

By Jeff Jones - Journal Staff Writer

Wednesday, June 8, 2005

Gov. Bill Richardson's plan to bring commuter train service to the Albuquerque metro area by the end of the year is chugging along.

First, officials say the state has nailed down $30 million in federal transportation money to pay the first three years' operating costs of the New Mexico Rail Runner Express.

The Mid-Region Council of Governments also has selected a company to operate and maintain the $35 million fleet of five new locomotives and 10 new rail cars.

And the council has spent about $500,000 to acquire land for station platforms. It plans to open bidding for construction of those platforms later this month.

"We're in pretty good shape," said Chris Blewett, director of transportation and planning services for the council, which is heading up the project.

One potential obstacle: planners do not yet have the needed contracts with the BNSF Railway- the new name of the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway- to use and improve the tracks for train service between Belen and Bernalillo- agreements that were expected months ago.

But council executive director Lawrence Rael said last week the delay has not derailed plans to get the Rail Runner Express rumbling down the line by year's end.

"We have hedged our bets on giving an actual date," Rael said. But he added that catching a commuter train in late 2005 is "very possible."

One main reason for the delay is that the railroad has given the state the option of buying the rail line from Belen to Santa Fe rather than leasing it, Rael said.

He said BNSF Railway also has raised the possibility of selling the line between Santa Fe and the Colorado border at Raton.

If the state were able to turn a purchase deal, "it puts the state in the driver's seat for the future of rail transportation," Rael said. "The value of that line- and the real estate (with it)- are significant for the state."

Rael said he's hoping the deals for use and improvement of the Belen-to-Bernalillo line will be finished by July or August.

"I would say we're well over 85 percent complete," he said.

Lena Kent, a California-based spokeswoman for BNSF Railway, said last week that talks were in progress.

"We're working hard to come towards an agreement."

Richardson, in the summer of 2003, kicked off plans to start a commuter train service to link communities from Belen to Santa Fe. The Belen-to-Bernalillo leg is step one.

Bringing a commuter into Santa Fe is still several years away and has an estimated cost of more than $200 million.

Critics question whether the corridor has enough people to support a train line and point out that tax money will eventually have to support it.

Supporters point to the need for alternatives to the ever-busier freeway system and say a commuter train will save would-be drivers fuel, time and hassles.

The checks to build the Belen-to-Bernalillo service have already been written. The state Transportation Commission last summer set aside $75 million, while Sandoval County, in December, kicked in $10 million.

Rael has said he envisions a system in which express vans or shuttles would ferry train riders between the stations and workplaces. Blewett said in addition to its $10 million contribution, Sandoval County has earmarked other money to set up shuttle services.

The $30 million that will be used to operate the service for its initial three years comes from federal "congestion mitigation and air quality" money, Rael said.

The council has selected the Missouri-based Herzog Transit Services Inc. to maintain and operate the fleet and is negotiating a contract, Blewett said.

That company also operates commuter lines in Dallas, Florida and California, Rael and Blewett said.

The first completed Rail Runner Express passenger cars are expected to roll off the Bombardier Transit assembly line in Canada later this month, Blewett said, though the cars won't start rolling into New Mexico until August and September.

Motive Power, an Idaho company, is building the locomotives. They will be arriving from September to December.