Cheap gasoline syphons riders from New Mexico commuter train

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's distinctive commuter rail line cuts a breathtaking path through Native American tribal lands, past silhouetted mountain ranges and swaths of cottonwood trees along the Rio Grande, ferrying workers between the state's major metropolis of Albuquerque to the seat of state government in Santa Fe.

On a weekday afternoon at Santa Fe's South Capital railroad platform, set within a cluster of state office buildings and near the New Mexico School for the Deaf, commuters expressed gratitude and devotion toward the Rail Runner, with some grumbling about the occasional late train.

Rail Runner critics contend that cities along the line don't have the population density to justify the expense of the service, but talk of a sale or shutdown have subsided as metro station locations attract public and private investment.

Sen. John Arthur Smith, the Democratic chairman of the Legislative Finance Committee that drafts the state budget, said a sale is highly unlikely because of debt obligations and operational costs.

University of New Mexico civil engineering professor Gregory Rowangould said the train's value as a public investment hinges on the avoided investments of road and highway upkeep and expansion, along with less tangible factors such as reductions in traffic accidents and air pollution.