Gov. Candidates talk about rail runner

ALBUQUERUQE, NM {KRQE} - It's been called everything from the Governor's choo-choo to the wave of the future, but what do the candidates for governor think about the rail runner? Specifically the cost to launch and run the commuter train in a time when the state is making budget cuts left and right, including to public education.

It's been four years, and like most forms of public transportation, the rail runner isn't paying for itself.

The train cost 22-million dollars to operate last fiscal year, and five million of that came from the state.

So what will the next governor do about the rail runner?

News 13 asked both candidates that question.

Republican Governor Candidate Susana Martinez said, “We have to do an economic analysis to see how much is the public willing to pump in to that transportation? Or can we change it in a way that makes it worthwhile?”

Democrat Diane Denish sent News 13 a statement saying she would review the train's schedules and fares to see if it is drawing as many passengers as possible.

She also said she would look into putting advertising on the trains to bring in cash.

Even though the 400-million dollar train is already here, News 13 wanted to know whether the women fighting for the state's top job were behind the rail runner in the first place.

Denish declined to answer that question.

But, here's what she told the media when the rail runner made its first trip down the tracks back in 2006.

“I think it's not the wave of the future. I think it is the future. We need to be part of it.” Denish said.

Martinez said the train wasn't just for commuters, “I think (Bill) Richardson intended to create a legacy for himself and the money we're pumping into the rail runner long term was not actually taken into consideration.”

The feds pay for almost 5 million of the rail runner's operating cost.

Taxpayers in the four counties served by the train paid about eleven million dollars of the bill, after voters passed a special sales tax to help foot the bill.

State officials expect that number to go up as the economy rebounds.