Posted on 12/18/2008 9:57:47 AM PST by CedarDave
A southbound Rail Runner commuter train was halted for about 20 minutes Wednesday night after striking a cow near San Felipe Pueblo , and morning delays from track-signal problems and missed bus connections plagued the commuter train on its first day of service between Santa Fe and Albuquerque.
Passengers onboard a train that left a station near the state Department of Transportation headquarters about 5:22 p.m. reported the train screeched to a sudden halt at about 6:10 p.m., and emergency lighting came on in passenger cars.
The conductor informed passengers over an intercom that the crew was investigating what the train had hit and later announced "everything checked out OK." The train began rolling again shortly after 6:30 p.m.
Although the train's conductor didn't disclose to passengers what the train had struck, Lawrence Rael, executive director of the Mid-Region Council of Governments, which oversees the train operation for the state, later confirmed the locomotive had hit a cow. Fences are already being installed in the area to deter livestock.
Despite the snags, many passengers remained optimistic the New Mexico Rail Runner Express would become a reliable transportation option.
"You know, they are going to have kinks, so hopefully they will get them worked out," said Marlene Benavidez, a Santa Fean who was late to her job Wednesday morning with the U.S. Postal Service in Albuquerque as a result of the train problems.
Benavidez boarded the first southbound train of the day just after 6 a.m., but that train was twice halted for longer than planned on track sidings when track-side signals malfunctioned. The train arrived in downtown Albuquerque about an hour and a half later than expected.
(Excerpt) Read more at santafenewmexican.com ...
See the post below for another side of the story.
Ironic. Sacred cow hits real cow. And on it’s first run too! Prophetic, even.
One Joyful Ride Changed My Mind It's time for Rail Runner naysayers to trade in their cynicism, hand over their car keys and get on the train.
Wednesday, when the Rail Runner train began its much-anticipated run from Belen to Santa Fe, cars were crackling with the excitement that comes with anything new.
Seats were filled with the curious, who had no agenda other than taking the train.
"I'm a train person, but not a totally insane train person," Andrea Carvey said as she boarded for a quick ride north for some shopping and a meal.
And state workers were out in commuting force.
~~snip~~
If you'd like to look into the eyes of a Rail Runner naysayer, flip back to the front page and take a look at the picture that accompanies this column.
It's too expensive. Unnecessary. Won't work. The whistle wakes me up a 5 in the morning. I'd rather drive.
That was my grumpy Rail Runner spiel before I hopped on the No. 508 at Journal Center on Wednesday morning and settled into an upper-deck seat for the trip north. An hour and 45 minutes later (the train arrived in Santa Fe about 40 minutes late), I had turned into a giddy Rail Runner nut.
NM scenery, especially with a light snow is indeed beautiful, but $400 million will buy a lot of picture postcards.
I’m not sure I see this working in a low-density population State like NM. Trains have a place in higher-density areas like the Northeast Corridor, but trying to make them work in the more empty States is just political wishful thinking.
Fences are already being installed in the area to deter livestock.
Why were fences not installed BEFORE service began?”
100 +++ miles of “fences” are very expensive, not to mention that ranchers should be able to manage their ranches as they see fit.
There is a standard in the west called “OPEN RANGE”.
That means that the cow- horse- whatever has the right of way.
If you hit a cow/horse or whatever in open range- YOU owe the rancher for the animal. If you hit a breeding bull, you had best hope that you have very excellent incurance. They can run upwards of $100,000.
Richardson promised it would be running by the end of 2008. Some things were skipped.
It's worse in Santa Fe, where a paved rail trail was built 4 to 5 miles through the city alongside the old rarely used 10 mph track. Now it has been upgraded to 35-40 mph and there is no fence. Adults, joggers, kids with skate boards and bicycles use it. I can see a school child with a big dog that is scared by the train and gets away and darts across the tracks with the child right behind. Shudder!! And the neighbors are already complaining about the horn blowing to warn the users. With the snow, not many are using it right now, but after a few sunny days, people will be out and about again.
but trying to make them work in the more empty States is just political wishful thinking.”
correction:
is just political payoff and graft.
“Moo...”
[BANG!]
“...Mooo...”
So true. The cost of nearly a half-billion dollars for a couple of thousand users per day is a farce. Farebox recovery (the cost of a ticket is about the same as a supersized Big Mac) is about 10% with local taxpayers making up the remaining 90% of the estimated $20-25 million yearly operating costs.
True, but in this case it was on Pueblo land and the tribe's casino is already taking white-man gamblers for much more than that.
PING to the New Mexico list.
If you want to be added or removed, please FReepmail greyfoxx39.
Self-serving video that shows the desolation along the route (Indian pueblo and other federal land mostly).
http://abqjournal.magnify.net/video/Ride-the-Railrunner-From-ABQ-to
It also works city-to-city. I can take DC's subway to the Amtrak station, ride up to NYC and take the subway up there to my final destination (or use cabs).
Without that extra infrastructure, trains don't really work for commuters.
I was amused by the slow crawl near the end of the video.
The recently passed transit tax funds both the train and a system of feeder buses. The one that was mentioned that left the station is being rescheduled and others will meet each train and take them to other areas of ABQ and Santa Fe. Of course, for Santa Fe, the station is right downtown and only a couple of easy blocks from the Plaza. Tourists will love it as parking is always bad up there. For state government employees, the Capital station is located in a cluster of state government offices.
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