Rail Runner celebrates 400,000th
Rider!
NM Rail Runner Express gets close to half-a-million passengers
in less than 10-months
(5-9-07) – Less than 10 months after taking to the track,
the New Mexico Rail Runner Express is celebrating another major
milestone – its 400,000th rider.
“It’s exciting to see people
embracing the Rail Runner with such enthusiasm!” said Lawrence
Rael, Executive Director of the Mid-Region Council of
Governments. “The escalating price of gas and increasing
rush-hour traffic makes this a very desirable mode of
transportation in the middle Rio Grande valley.”
The Rail Runner, which has become the fastest start-up of a
commuter rail train in the country in the past 20 years,
currently carries commuters along a 50-mile corridor between the
City of Belen and the Town of Bernalillo. Work has already begun
on extending the Rail Runner route north to Santa Fe by the end
of 2008.
“It’s clear that more New Mexicans are finding that using the
Rail Runner is an extremely convenient form of transportation”,
says New Mexico Secretary of Transportation, Rhonda Faught.
“It’s clean, fast, and many commuters like the idea of just
sitting back and enjoying the ride,” says Faught.
The lucky person to be designated the official 400,000th
passenger will be notified of their unique distinction at the
Downtown Albuquerque Rail Runner station this Thursday May 10th
following the arrival of the 7:35 am train. That rider will
receive a “goody bag” of Rail Runner items, including a pass to
ride the train for free for one month, a scale model of the New
Mexico Rail Runner Express, as well as a travel mug, and other
items.
Contacts:
- Augusta Meyers, MRCOG Communications Mgr. 505-239-8612, ameyers@mrcog-nm.gov
- S.U. Mahesh, NM Department of Transportation (505) 490-0976
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