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I took a ride on the Rail Runner Express the other day and came away impressed.
It was the day before Christmas Eve, and friends told me there was a whiteout in Santa Fe. Normally, I would count myself lucky to live in nice, dry Albuquerque with no compelling reason to go to anywhere on a day like that.
But my two boys live for snowy days…and I’d been meaning to try out the Rail Runner… and all my Christmas stuff was done…so we decided to bundle up, hop the train and check it out.
Ours was strictly a recreational excursion –- we went up at 10:37 a.m., arrived at noon and headed back at 4:10 p.m. — taking the latest morning run to Santa Fe and the earliest afternoon return to Albuquerque. Not exactly commuter hours.
Our train was filled with shoppers and grandmas and looky-loos who ooed and awed at the bright shiny newness of New Mexican’s $400 million toy. Passengers carried overnight bags and brightly-wrapped presents or, like us, traveled empty-handed, with an unmistakable air of leisure and enjoyment at just being there.
Our train was clean and precisely on time. The snow, along with the most beautiful scenery, kicked in a few minutes after we left the U.S. 550 station outside Bernalillo. The lulling ride was marred only by an older grandma-type who insisted on barreling out Christmas carols, long after everyone else stopped singing. But I decided I sure would rather relax on that train listening to her sing than trying to negotiate La Bajada on I-25.
We arrived in a wonderland of snow, met our friends and grabbed lunch at the uncrowded Zia Diner (Tomasita’s, directly across from the depot, was mobbed). Afterward we roamed the Santa Fe Railyard shops, The Sanbusco Center, REI and the holiday Farmer’s Market. After playing in the snow a bit, we grabbed some hot chocolate at Tomasita’s and hopped on the train for a 5:30 arrival back in Albuquerque.
Total time on Santa Fe: 4 hours. Dollars spent? About $100. Not bad for an unplanned, agenda-free trip that most emphatically would NOT have happened if the Rail Runner didn’t exist.
And I am looking forward to taking the Rail Runner again, maybe for work next time. Judging from conversation among friends and colleagues, ridership should be high during the upcoming legislative session in Santa Fe.
So I guess I should thank all of the people who made the Rail Runner happen, in the face of all the criticism and crabbing (which I am not going to recap here). Because I think it’s important to speak up when things go right, not just when they go wrong.
I do have just one little nitpick, though, one that’s common among people I’ve talked to.
There’s a movement afoot in Santa Fe and Albuquerque to get the state Department of Transportation and the Middle Rio Grande Council of Governments to adopt a schedule that’s more adaptive to people who want to take the train to go to dinner or attend a concert or other event. The movement, led by Santa Fe actor and producer Giuseppe Quinn, goes by the catchphrase “Call for Culture Friendly NM Rail Runner Schedule” and was boosted a few weeks ago by this article by Dave Maass in the Santa Fe Reporter.
“Basically, I’m calling for everyone and their sister, who see that the current evening schedule is lacking in support for NM culture, to voice their opinion,” Quinn told me in an e-mail, adding that 930 people (including me) have joined a Facebook group advocating the cause. “People should write their favorite, and not so favorite newspaper, blog, Web site, billboard, chatroom, radio show, television Station, Mayor, Governor, City Council-person, priest, lawyer, and superhero. They should contact friends, family and anyone with an interest for better full-week evening scheduling, i.e. music venues, theaters, restaurants, bars, comedy shoppes, dance clubs, museums, and galleries.”
I know it’s supposed to be a commuter train, but the DOT and MRCOG have said they based the current Rail Runner schedule on many factors, including input they sought from prospective riders before the service started. And they say they are open to tinkering with the schedules and many other train-related issues as time goes on and people weigh in with practical suggestions, whether they are commuters or pleasure-riders. And so, far, that seems to be the case.
Let’s see what happens with this one.
