Bingaman Supports Efforts To Expand Commuter Rail Service To The Pueblos Of Sandia And Isleta

Bingaman Supports Efforts To Expand Commuter Rail Service To The Pueblos Of Sandia And Isleta

U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman has thrown his support behind efforts to expand the New Mexico Rail Runner Express to serve the Pueblos of Sandia and Isleta.

The Rail Runner Express commuter rail service has been in operation between Bernalillo and Albuquerque. The line was expanded in December to Los Lunas and then again to Belen. This 50-mile long commuter rail line runs through the Pueblo of Sandia north of Albuquerque and the Pueblo of Isleta south of Albuquerque. Unfortunately, neither pueblo is currently served by the Rail Runner Express because there are no stations on tribal land.

The Mid-Region Council is seeking a $3.5 million federal grant under the Federal Highway Administration's Transportation, Community, and System Preservation Program for the project. The total cost of the stations is $5 million.

In a letter to the Federal Highway Administration, Bingaman expressed his support for the council's grant application for expanding the commuter rail.

"The Rail Runner Express is providing a new level of mobility in this corridor for commuters, tourists, students and those seeking recreational, personal business and retail destinations. The two new stations will afford the Native American communities with significant opportunities to integrate the rail service into their existing and planned economic development activities and to provide residents of the Pueblos with direct access to many key destinations in the region. The two new stations will also serve the surrounding non-Indian communities," Bingaman wrote.

http://bingaman.senate.gov/news/record.cfm?id=270141