[CedarDave]

Good editorial. I expect the black hole known at the Rail Runner to be cut back drastically or to raise fares dramatically to weather the coming cash crunch in state government.

[CedarDave]

NM list PING!

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[Leisler]

bump!

[Spitzensparkin1]

Cut back all of big Bill's boondoggles. Look out washington, here he comes...

[Paladin2]

"Yes, the commuter train's revenues outpaced expenditures by $254,481 for fiscal 2010 ($22,261,918 vs. $22,007,437). But only $2.927 million of that revenue came from the fare box. A big chunk — $11.95 million — came from a regional sales tax for mass transit. The rest came from a variety of sources, most also taxpayer funded — including the feds, the state, the soon-to-be-empty coal-car that is the stimulus —as well as the private and tax-supported railroads for use of the tracks."

Where is Willie just when one needs the leftist economics spin to 'splain how this works so well and puts it to the Koch oil men?

[PugetSoundSoldier]

Where’s Willie when you need him...

[Toddsterpatriot]

Willie math!

[Enchante]

hey, it’s slightly more than 10% of the revenues coming from rider fares — the system is well on its way to becoming self-supporting!! </sarcasm>

[BluH2o]

Visited Santa Fe, NM last fall ... witnessed the Rail
Runner departing Santa Fe in the AM for Albuquerque and points south, the train was nearly empty. Live in CO and travel down to NM from time to time ... enough to know that there is no way the Rail Runner has a chance in hell of ever breaking even, much less making a profit. This is a government project that will be tax payer subsidized for decades ... guaranteed.

[woofie]

They could make more money if they sold popcorn and cold drinks on the train

[okie01]

$22MM in expenses to collect $2.9MM in revenues. Spend a buck to earn 13 cents.

It had no chance to start with. But that's even worse than we thought.

The new guv would be advised to ashcan the whole thing -- put up signs along the rusty rails identifying it as "The Bill Richardson Memorial Boondoggle".

[joelt]

It is called the Rail Runner. But I think RailRoader is better. Think I did a back of thre envelope calculation that this $500 million boondoogle takes 2400 cars a day off a 75 mile stretch of I25... A HORRIBLE use of taxpayer funds.And the $500 Mill is only the capital outlay;not the operating losses. But libs everywhere love the chu-chu.

[GeronL]

A surplus of subsidies.