WASHINGTON — The agency overseeing the New Mexico Rail Runner commuter operation has received a $22.4 million grant for a new maintenance facility.
The grant, from the Department of Transportation’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program, is among nine announced Monday (Jan. 13, 2025) by members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation. Also included are three grade-crossing projects among a group of 123 nationwide that were announced last week (see “FRA awards more than $1.1 billion …,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 10, 2025), two highway projects, two tribal transportation awards, and an additional project to address grade crossings in Gallup, N.M., under the Reconnecting Communities program.
The funds to the Rio Metro Regional Transit District will help pay for the Rail Runner’s new Express Operations and Maintenance Facility project, to service locomotives and railcars in a shop consisting of a high-bay area, storage and work rooms, and offices.
The Reconnecting Communities grant will see the city of Gallup receive $2 million for planning to eliminate two grade crossings on BNSF’s main line through the city’s downtown.
“These projects will ensure safer roads for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists, while making our rail systems safer and strengthening the links between our communities,” U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) said in a press release from the state’s two senators and three members of the House of Representatives. “This funding, made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, is a critical investment in the future of New Mexico, and these projects will help create a more efficient, safe, and sustainable transportation network for years to come.”
This is a huge win for NM Rail Runner and their maintenance staff. Their current “shop” facilities near the Albuquerque station are an open air yard. A short section of one track has a permanent structure with a roof, but no walls. Another track has a “temporary” structure similar to the permanent one, but smaller.