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You know, discussion of light rail in New Mexico has gone back and forth for years and years. We all knew it would be cool, but we never had a leader progressive enough, yet powerful enough, to get the job done. Well, then we elected Bill Richardson Governor, and our days of dreaming of fast commuter trains, decreased auto emissions and fewer traffic hassles are nearly over. In fact, for people between Bernalillo to the north of Albuquerque, all the way down to Belen south of Albuquerque, those dreams are already a reality. By late next year the extention up to Santa Fe will be complete, and then New Mexico will really see the benefit of light rail
Here is the map of the current route:
As you can see, at the present time our train runs from the southern suburbs of Belen and Los Lunas, and then hits the major transportation centers of the Albuqueruque sunport and the downtown Alvarado station.
This station connects with Albuqueruque's bus system, which can get you from downtown to any other part of Albuquerque.
It then runs up to Journal Center, home of the Albuqueruque Journal and a number of other businesses, and is really the hub of commercial and industrial activity in the northern part of the city. From there it races up the Rio Grande corridor to Bernalillo and has two stops. Commuters from Rio Rancho and Bernalillo alike get a lot of benefit from the reduced commute time to downtown Albuquerque. I think it takes about 15 minutes by train, and by car it is easily 45 to a hour, depending on traffic.
This past weekend I took advantage of the Rail Runner to travel to the New Mexico Wine Festival with my husband, my cousin Carrie, and my kids. We boarded at the downtown station, which was immaculate, parking in a nearby garage. We waited just a few minutes at the platform before our train arrived. I didn't anticipate how beautifully designed this train would be, but it really was very elegant, and featured my favorite color, red, prominently, a plus for me! Well we went up a half level of stairs and found a little area just perfect for our group, two side by side groups of seats with tables. The tables have outlets where you can work on your laptop during the commute and the train does offer wireless internet.
The ride was really smooth. We made a few stops, and arrived at the Wine Festival ready to hike around. I had a great time, we all did, but as hot as the day was I have to say the highlight was riding the train. Drinking a lot of wine in the blazing New Mexico sun while wearing black was a bad idea? Who knew?? Actually, we did have a wonderful time, all things considered, and listened to some great music, but this diary isn't about that, it is about the train.
Once the train reaches Santa Fe I think that the remaining naysayers will be convinced. With gas prices hovering somewhere between outrageous and horrifying, our environment in peril, and the though of being stuck for 30 minutes on a three mile stretch of I-25 when you could be having dinner with your family will convince a vast majority of commuters to ride the rails.
As for me, I can't wait for it to reach Santa Fe, I will head up there regularly for shopping, trips to the legislature, sight seeing and eating at my favorite restaurant, Tomasitas (christmas baby!) For now, I will be content if I get to take it up to our state's largest event, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, coming in October.
To sum up, New Mexico owes Governor Richardson abundant gratitude for having the vision and tenacity to get the job done, and the democrats need to consider real, tangible accomplishments like this when deciding who to choose for the party nominee. The Rail Runner is just one good reason among MANY to pick Bill Richardson.
UPDATE: I just saw Bill Richardson's new ad, take a look here...