The New Mexico RailRunner Express recently celebrated its 20 th anniversary. When it was created, the brainchild of then Gov. Bill Richardson was sold to us as necessary to reduce traffic on I-25 and that it would be good for the environment.
Richardson clearly wanted some “big” ideas as part of his run for the White House. Other supporters claimed that having commuter rail was part of making Albuquerque a “big” city. These arguments were doubtful at the time and we at the Rio Grande Foundation were one of the few organizations that called out their numerous shortcomings.
Recently, a reporter asked what the actual cost of the train is to average New Mexicans. Because that cost includes both fixed (capital) costs and ongoing (operating) costs, it can be difficult to make those calculations, but then we found a May 2026 report from Rio Metro which manages the train. The report notes on page 7: The “FY2027 Rail Runner budget incorporates…$95.3 million in costs. That’s $47.5 million for Operations & Maintenance; $47.0 million for capital (building the system amortized over time); and Positive Train Control debt service (thanks to a 2008 federal mandate) $0.8 million.
An overwhelming percentage of the train’s costs are borne by taxpayers (mostly state, but some federal). A relatively small amount ($2.8 million) is paid to Rio Metro by freight carrier BNSF and an even smaller amount ($1.4 million) is paid in the form of rider fares. That brings us to $91.2 million paid by taxpayers this year…