By Paul Gessing
The New Mexico RailRunner Express recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. When it was created, the brainchild of then Gov. Bill Richardson was sold to us as necessary to reduce traffic on I-25 and that it would be good for the environment.
Richardson clearly wanted some "big" ideas as part of his run for the White House. Other supporters claimed that having commuter rail was part of making Albuquerque a "big" city. These arguments were doubtful at the time and we at the Rio Grande Foundation were one of the few organizations that called out their numerous shortcomings.
Recently, a reporter asked what the actual cost of the train is to average New Mexicans. Because that cost includes both fixed (capital) costs and ongoing (operating) costs, it can be difficult to make those calculations, but then we found a May 2026 report from Rio Metro which manages the train. The report notes on page 7: The "FY2027 Rail Runner budget incorporates…$95.3 million in costs. That's $47.5 million for Operations & Maintenance; $47.0 million for capital (building the system amortized over time); and Positive Train Control debt service (thanks to a 2008 federal mandate) $0.8 million).
An overwhelming percentage of the train's costs are borne by taxpayers (mostly state, but some federal). A relatively small amount ($2.8 million) is paid to Rio Metro by freight carrier BNSF and an even smaller amount ($1.4 million) is paid in the form of rider fares. That brings us to $91.2 million paid by taxpayers this year.
According to Rio Metro, annual ridership was 607,295 this year. That works out to an eye popping $150 per RailRunner rider covered by taxpayers. Is a train ride to Santa Fe worth $150? I looked up the cost of an Uber from Downtown Albuquerque to the Roundhouse (non-rush hour) and found that I could Uber to Santa Fe for just $61.94.
A similar trip on the Rail Runner takes an hour and 13 minutes leaving on the train's schedule, taking the "express" which saves about 15 minutes, and of course not including additional time needed to walk to and from the stations.
Slow, but heavily subsidized trips on the Rail Runner between Albuquerque and Santa Fe were never ideal and over time the number of annual trips has plummeted. Back in 2010-2012 when the train was relatively new it averaged approximately 1.2 million riders annually. By 2019 that number had dropped to just 744,000. In the 3 full years since COVID shut the system down and changed our work habits (2023-2025) annual ridership has been about 600,000 annually. That's half of what it was at the peak.
It is unclear whether ridership on the train can be boosted. More "express" trains between Albuquerque and Santa Fe might help, but even the current "express" trains have too many stops and are few and far between (once in either direction daily).
Despite the red ink associated with the train, some would call it a "success" because it supposedly gets cars off the road. But, as the Legislative Finance Committee pointed out in 2024 (and ridership has rebounded only slightly since then) "At current ridership, the Rail Runner generates more carbon dioxide than if the passengers had driven their own vehicles, and weekday ridership would need to increase by 23 percent for the train to reduce emissions to a level equivalent to the individual car trips."
In other words, my Uber rider would be both cheaper AND better for the environment than the Rail Runner (in the absence of the train).
Unfortunately, our politicians do not care. Deb Haaland recently took to social media to say that she would like to see the Rail Runner expanded. New Mexico is awash in cash. There are numerous wasteful government spending programs that New Mexico SHOULD reconsider that simply won't be until New Mexico faces some kind of financial pressure. The Rail Runner is one of them.
Paul Gessing is president of the Rio Grande Foundation, an Albuquerque-based think tank focused on the importance of individual freedom, limited government and economic opportunity
