New Mexico Rail Runner Express

The New Mexico Rail Runner Express is the commuter rail service for the Albuquerque I-25 corridor from Belen to Bernalillo. It will soon be extended North to Santa Fe.

The price is quite moderate, I was able to buy an all day pass, including all Albuquerque buses for $4. A one way ticket is $2. I bought the pass online the day before and printed it out. Tickets and passes are also available at the platform or on the train from roving ticket agents who take cash or credit cards.

The Rail Runner’s five locomotives are diesel-electric MP36PH-3C’s built by Motive Power Inc. in Boise, Idaho. Rail Runner locomotives produce about 3600 horsepower and are capable of running speeds in excess of 100 mph. Since they run on diesel fuel, the Mid Region Council of Governments is investigating the potential use of biodiesel as a fuel source for the locomotives. The trains use Bombardier Bi-Level commuter cars.

The graphics on the sides of the trains are striking, with a road runner head and neck on the locomotives and the tail feathers repeated on each car.

I rode the train from Bernalillo to Belen then back to downtown Albuquerque. From the downtown station I visited the Zoo then completed my round trip to Bernalillo. Since the route used by the trains is so straight, I had no opportunity to take a picture of the train from a rear car while in a curve. Instead, I am using the view from a seat in the cab car that was controlling the train on the northbound trip. The engineer was seated just to the front and the right of me in a different compartme