Cristina Feldewert remembers playing as a child on the historic locomotive at Salvador Perez Park — what she dubbed “Train Park.”

That, coupled with annual trips her family took via train from Lamy to Kansas City, Mo., spurred a certain fondness for sitting in a railway car and watching the world go by. So when talk of the construction of a new commuter train hit Santa Fe in the 2000s, Feldewert was thrilled.

“I was just so excited with the thought of being able to get to Albuquerque, send kids to Albuquerque,” said Feldewert, now 61 and a tin artist still living in Santa Fe.

The concept became reality July 14, 2006, with the inauguration of the New Mexico Rail Runner Express, which initially operated between downtown Albuquerque and Bernalillo.

The Rail Runner is now gearing up for its 20th anniversary, marking two decades of commuter service from Belen to Santa Fe with many stops in between. What started as a push by several governors for a train that would ease traffic along the Interstate 25 corridor has now saved approximately 175,000 gallons of gasoline and 17.1 million vehicle miles during peak commuter hours, according to the Rio Metro Regional Transit District, which manages the Rail Runner.

“It’s like watching your baby grow,” said Rio Metro Director Robert Gonzales. “You see the steps, and then you see this thing finally come to fruition, and you hope to be a major part of it and help it grow to what it is today.”

What makes the vicennial extra special: The Rail Runner has nearly bounced back to its pre-COVID-19 ridership numbers, which averaged 3,500 per day, Gonzales said.

During the pandemic, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham instructed the train — which these days serves 15 stations — to shut down. The closure was initially set to last three weeks, but it quickly stretched to a year.

The Rail Runner used the time to implement Positive Train Control, GPS-based safety technology mandated by the Federal Railroad Administration. Still, the time away took a toll.

“When you lose riders like that, it’s hard to kind of capture them back,” Gonzales said. “And I think we’re doing a few things: We have consistent Wi-Fi throughout the territory. We’re trying to give the passengers a better experience. We’re working with the communities on any event that we can help bring people to and from. And it’s just to capture the audience.”

Rio Metro spokesperson Augusta Meyers noted the train’s schedule has shifted since the pandemic.

Before, the schedule was geared toward the commuter — particularly people traveling to Santa Fe for work. Now, some people follow a hybrid schedule or don’t work in-person in an office at all.

“We have a lot more midday service,” Meyers said. “We find that since we don’t have tons of congestion forcing people on the train, a lot of our riders are leisure riders.”

The Rail Runner regularly has special service for events in Santa Fe, including the Santa Fe Opera and the annual Burning of Zozobra.

‘A herculean task’

The original vision for New Mexico’s first commuter rail service was codified in the 2003 New Mexico Regional Transit District Act. The legislation’s mission, in part, was to provide residents with improved access to education and better-paying jobs and to reduce congestion, crashes and pollution caused by single-occupant vehicles, according to Rio Metro.

Then-Gov. Bill Richardson championed the Rail Runner project. When he died, the train ran a special service for his funeral.

Construction of the first Rail Runner station began on Halloween in 2005. The train’s graphics — inspired by the state bird — were designed to evoke the image of a roadrunner zooming down the tracks.

In the two years after the train first launched, its service expanded from Belen to Bernalillo, then Belen to Santa Fe — a 96.5-mile corridor that passes through four counties and several tribal nations. Most commuter train corridors, Meyers said, are around 32 miles.

“It was pretty cool to watch,” Gonzales said. “I mean, it was a feat. It was a lot of hard work, but they got it done.”

Indeed, the expansion process involved relocating prairie dogs and navigating rough topography — “a herculean task,” Gonzales said.

Overall, the two-phase construction of the Rail Runner cost about $385 million.

And despite a 31% increase in costs per revenue mile between 2019 and 2022, Rail Runner operations have remained on “a strong financial footing compared to other transit systems,” according to a 2024 Legislative Finance Committee Progress Report.

‘Get on and have fun’

One year, Feldewert’s son used the Rail Runner to take his birthday party guests from Albuquerque to Santa Fe. Although the group was in high school, they couldn’t yet drive, so the service proved efficient.

“Now, when the kids come into town, and they bring grandkids — or just whenever we have people in town — if we’ve got something fun going on, we’ll hop on at the 599 station and then just ride downtown or enjoy the sites or go to a movie or whatever’s happening,” Feldewert said. “Then we’ll hop back on the Rail Runner and get back off at our station and come home.”

“It saves parking. It saves coordinating,” she added. “We’re able to just get on and have fun.”

The Rail Runner has floated the idea of further expansion; staff would like to be able to let people off closer to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta each October, for example. The train has partnered with the festival in the past.

Feldewert said she wishes the train could add in a stop at the Albuquerque International Sunport.

Rio Metro thought such a venture might be doable in the beginning, Meyers said, but staff determined the best connection to the airport would involve people taking the train to the downtown Albuquerque station, then taking the bus there.

Still, staff are constantly eyeing travel trends and looking to update the train’s schedule, Meyers said. The current summer schedule involves expanded service to and from Santa Fe, including a new lunchtime route.

“The area it serves is where 40% of our state’s population resides,” Meyers said. “And that’s not likely to change.”

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