Q&A: With service slated to arrive by the end of 2008, why some city and county leaders are still raising red flags

City and county leaders who initiated the backlash this week against the state's plans to bring commuter Rail Runner Express trains to Santa Fe hope they have the attention of train planners.

What remains unclear is how much their action will accomplish as the Transportation Department pledges that construction will continue to meet a deadline from Gov. Bill Richardson.

Commuter trains that have been operating in the Albuquerque area for more than a year are slated to arrive in Santa Fe by the end of 2008. The state has been holding public meetings, narrowing design choices and seeking federal approval for its Santa Fe plans for several years. Many Santa Fe residents have said they look forward to using the service.

All along, some local elected officials have raised questions about the process and about decisions they say didn't take the community's needs into consideration. When the state celebrated a groundbreaking Wednesday, City Councilors Karen Heldmeyer and Matthew Ortiz and County Commissioner Jack Sullivan got more aggressive in their outcry.

The councilors introduced a resolution that seeks to rescind previous approval of Rail Runner plans, and Sullivan said he will ask a city/county body to pass a measure demanding more answers about potential station locations.

Here are some questions about the train, whose answers vary depending on whom you ask:

Question: What authority or input do local officials have in the project?

Answer: The state Transportation Department hired an Albuquerque-area government consortium called the Mid-Region Council of Governments to implement the Rail Runner, first in the Albuquerque area, then on to Santa Fe. Planners sought comment here and gave presentations to local boards, including the city/county Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Some local government leaders are seeking support for resolutions that would negate previous positive recommendations. Heldmeyer said the city's authority is questionable. ``It would be an interesting issue to litigate, but we hope it does not get to that,'' she said.

State Transportation Secretary Rhonda Faught was out of town Friday and unavailable for comment, but her spokesman, S.U. Mahesh, said the train project is not slowing down. ``All I can say is we are moving forward on this,'' he said. ``We are proceeding as planned. We have a deadline.''

Later, the department issued a statement that said: ``While we don't want to debate the legality of this issue, we would certainly like to sit down with these elected officials and address any concerns they may have. We believe we have addressed issues of major concerns such as traffic congestion, safety and noise. However, if they feel we still have some pending issues that need resolution, we will talk to them.''

Mayor David Coss, a train-project supporter, said he doesn't see how the local government could hold up anything now. ``I would not propose that the city or county would try to find or exert authority to stop such a great project,'' he said.

Question: Where will the trains stop?

Answer: The state has promised to deliver and pick up passengers at two locations in the city: the Transportation Department headquarters at Cerrillos and Cordova roads and the Santa Fe Railyard.

Project managers have said they want local officials to make a recommendation about a possible third stop. The city has hired a consultant to study potential locations both in the city and outside it along Interstate 25. Being considered are sites near the N.M. 599 intersection with I-25 south of town; on either side of the I-25 interchange with N.M. 14; at La Cienega; at Richards Avenue; at Rabbit Road and St. Francis Drive; at Zia Road, at Siringo Road; and in the St. Michael's Drive-Second Street area.

Sullivan has said he wants to know why the state didn't plan for all the possible stops in its initial designs or decide on a third stop before now.

``My point all along has been, you can't separate them. They are a part of one project,'' said Sullivan, who has criticized the Albuquerque-based planners for not involving Santa Fe enough. ``I would like to see the Rail Runner go forward, but I'd like to see it go forward with good planning and minimal impact.'' he said.

The federal government has signed off on an environmental assessment that does not discuss the impact of any stations outside the city. Sullivan said he will bring a resolution to the Metropolitan Planning Organization in two weeks asking for more analysis of station locations near N.M. 599 and for an independent engineer to review safety plans.

Question: What are the anticipated traffic impacts in Santa Fe?

Answer: As many as 20 times a day, trains will cross eight intersections in the city. In each case, four gates and median construction will block motorists from the trains, according to designs.

In light of two fatal vehicle-train accidents south of Albuquerque in the last month, train planners have said crossings similar to those at the crash sites are not planned for the Santa Fe leg.

A traffic analysis by train planners points out that some intersections that already are problematic could be further clogged by passing trains. Trains will take between 52 and 86 seconds to cross roadways. The intersections of St. Francis Drive with Zia Road and Cerrillos Road both are likely to experience additional delays, but the analysis also suggests traffic would decline as some commuters on St. Francis take the train instead of driving.

Local transit planners don't necessarily agree with the analysis. Heldmeyer said it's nearly impossible to fully understand how local traffic would change without knowing where stations will be located, for example.

Question: What will the train sound and feel like as it passes through the community?

Answer: People who live in neighborhoods that the trains will traverse are nervous about noise and vibration. Although the state has promised that intersection improvements will cut out horn blowing, the engine noise and rumble of the passing trains still concern people who live in the Kaune, Candlelight, Pueblos del Sol, Las Estancias, Calle Lorca and Vista del Prado areas and other track-side homes.

Councilor Ortiz said many of his constituents feel as if their feedback at public meetings has been ignored.

``The Rail Runner project is not going to be the Santa Fe Southern. It is going to be a regular daily event that impacts these people right in their backyards,'' he said. ``They are concerned that they are going to have a train that is going to be passing by their houses 10 to 20 times a day, an increase over what they have now ... and people feel like they were given a casual indifference.''

Question: How much money is going into the train, and who will bear its continued costs?

Answer: The initial investment in establishing train service will near $400 million, according to the budgets from the Transportation Department. Most of that money has come from state bonds.

The train currently running between Belen and Bernalillo costs almost $10 million annually, with operating expenses expected to double as the Santa Fe leg begins carrying passengers. Current federal funding that helps cover most of the cost will end in 2009.

Faught said this week that one option under consideration for continued financing of train service was levying a new gross-receipts tax in counties served by the train. However, she dropped that option when Richardson said he opposes that idea.