Albuquerque New Mexico Rail Runner Railrunner

Backshophoss wrote: ↑Fri May 22, 2020 5:51 pm With the virus hitting NM,the governor shut down the service to "flatten the curve" in march,possible return on May 31.
Install and Testing of the I-ETMS PTC was done in the meantime and is online.

A bit short for a shutdown, no? At least PTC is now installed so that this railroad doesn't have to worry about the government urging them to install it by a certain date or else.

The entire state was shut down at the same time in march ,ABQ and Santa Fe local Bus transit reverted to Saturday service.
Only the "Big Box" sand Grocery store stayed open.
NM is in "phase 1 reopening".most retail has returned,except forMcKinley,SanJuan counties,along with the Navajo Nation lands are still on "stay at home orders "and curfews

I have wanted to ride this service for over ten years and never have. But most trains do not stop at the airport. That's a huge swing/miss for me. I visited a few months after startup on vacation and they gave me this poster at the depot. I love it.

It sounds like Railrunner Express has had plenty of hit or miss ridership. The problem is that probably there are not enough jobs close enough to many of the train stations. ABQ is a spread out city and that goes with many of the towns served by Railrunner Express. The commuting schedule isn't great. It better times, it's good if you work in Santa Fe but when traveling to ABQ from the direction of Santa Fe, it's an issue. Railrunner Express is a great service to use when making daytrips from Santa Fe to ABQ and vice versa. I did that in August of 2014 and the morning train that I took was crowded.

The Sunport is reached wit a bus connection downtown Abq the stop in the notrth valley also has a weekday bus connection.
Expansion to Las Vegas NM,getting rid of the NMDOT Bus commuter runs could help creating a Santa Fe-La Vegas service.

Backshophoss wrote: ↑Fri May 22, 2020 9:20 pm The Sunport is reached wit a bus connection downtown Abq the stop in the notrth valley also has a weekday bus connection.
Expansion to Las Vegas NM,getting rid of the NMDOT Bus commuter runs could help creating a Santa Fe-La Vegas service.

Lots of nothing between Santa Fe and Las Vegas NM. Is the passenger volume there? And is the potential passenger volume higher than a southward to Socorro/NM Tech (or west to Laguna Pueblo) expansion?

BNSF wont allow NMRX on the Transconn, Belen Yard gets contested at time as the Flat switched yard is in the center
between the EB and WB fuel racks,so reaching Socorro (NM Tech)is a bit of a bear to get to.
Between Lamy and Los Vegas,there's a few hamlet sized towns and Glorieta retreat campus that are not served by the commuter bus

A lot of New Mexico is no mans land and I don't think going to Vegas, New Mexico would be that cost effective. I don't think too many people are using the Railrunner Express to get directly to the airport, especially to catch a flight either. Greater ABQ is not the NYC metropolitan area where I live. I see plenty of people taking Amtrak and NJT trains to connect to flights at EWR. ABQ is a whole different ballgame.

I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks Las Vegas NM is nuts for subsidized trains. That is far away and very few people.

This whole service should probably be DMU like the SuperSprinter or Turbostar, if they were available here.

Since this railroad, along with NJT, is one of two railroads at risk of missing the PTC deadline, does anyone know what Railrunner is doing about this matter? Considering they have temporarily suspended service, now would be a great time to test and install PTC on this somewhat short commuter line.

They have been installing I-ETMS PTC and testing that system, at present.
Current Heath Orders expire on 08/28 spread is down restart is possible.
Also C&TSis effected at Chama,no service under health orders

*Gulp* It's worse than I thought.

https://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2 ... line-looms

Zero percent of the 95 miles operated by New Mexico’s Rail Runner Express are compliant for positive train control, making the commuter railroad the only one in the nation with no territory operating with PTC, the Albuquerque Journal reports. The parent Rio Metro Regional Transportation District has also missed the deadline to file a file a required PTC safety plan. Rio Metro director Terry Doyle told the newspaper that the delay reflects a lack of funding; the agency has relied on federal grants to fund the $60 million project, and that money has not yet been received. Earlier this month, a Federal Railroad Administration said Rail Runner and NJ Transit are in danger of missing the Dec. 31, 2020, date to have PTC fully operational [see “FRA says just two commuter lines remain at risk of missing PTC deadline,” Trains News Wire, Aug. 12, 2020].

Well if you relied on using money the federal government was going to give you and they didn't, it makes sense you can't complete the work.

What about the 800 pound bear on the track ? How is the SW Chief going to transit that section ? No PTC no Chief. Bus between the two end points ?

Don't give Amtrak ideas! We don't want to have the threat of the SWC bus bridge again!