HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 30

49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2009

INTRODUCED BY

Thomas A. Garcia

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO STUDY THE FEASIBILITY OF EXTENDING THE RAIL RUNNER EXPRESS FROM SANTA FE TO LAS VEGAS AND RATON.

     WHEREAS, the "Rail Runner Express" is a commuter rail service that runs between Belen and Santa Fe carrying people to work, stores, entertainment and tourist attractions; and

     WHEREAS, to date, two phases of the Rail Runner Express have been completed, and the availability of this commuter option has reduced the burden on commuters of skyrocketing gasoline prices; and

     WHEREAS, phase one extended commuter rail service from Belen to the town of Bernalillo in July 2006; and

     WHEREAS, phase two extended commuter rail service from Bernalillo to Santa Fe, completing the entire route from Belen to Santa Fe in December 2008; and

     WHEREAS, the residents of Las Vegas and Raton would like to see the Rail Runner Express extended even farther north to provide rail service for commuters and others to Las Vegas and Raton and the towns in between; and

     WHEREAS, many people commute from Santa Fe to Las Vegas for employment at New Mexico highlands university, the Las Vegas behavioral health institute, the Las Vegas medical center and other employers; and

     WHEREAS, many people who work in Santa Fe or Las Vegas choose to live in Pecos, Rowe, Glorieta or other beautiful locations and would benefit from commuter rail service; and

     WHEREAS, Las Vegas is a growing community of nearly fourteen thousand residents in San Miguel county, which has more than thirty thousand residents; and

     WHEREAS, Raton is a community of more than seven thousand residents that serves as a gateway to many recreational sites in New Mexico and Colorado; and

     WHEREAS, both Raton and Las Vegas have rich historical significance in New Mexico as communities on the original old Santa Fe trail and both communities have preserved train stations and railroad track that already exists connecting Las Vegas and Raton; and

     WHEREAS, the Rail Runner Express has met with great enthusiasm and has been heavily patronized by commuters who work in Albuquerque but live in outlying communities and by commuters who work in Santa Fe and live in other communities; and

     WHEREAS, the Rail Runner Express could serve additional purposes besides commuter travel, such as providing access to this beautiful region of the state for residents and tourists as well as promoting convenient commerce between the northwest region of the state and the state's capital city;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the department of transportation be requested to complete a feasibility study to determine possible routes, optimum frequency of trips and potential costs of extending the Rail Runner Express from Santa Fe to Las Vegas and Raton; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study should create plans that can be set into action to maximize the use of possible funds that the federal government may make available in the future for public transit systems; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that those plans should also consider the need to ease the congestion on state highways running from Las Vegas and Raton in northern New Mexico to Las Cruces in southern New Mexico to reduce the need for expansion of highways and the costs of maintaining those highways; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the feasibility study, when complete, be presented to appropriate legislative interim committees by November 2010 and that a copy be submitted to the library of the legislative council service; and

      BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary-designate of transportation and the governor.

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