Taking a Look at New Mexico's RailRunner!
Reports of Rail Runner’s success greatly exaggerated
Gov. Bill Richardson has been touring New Mexico touting the "success" of the taxpayer-financed Rail Runner commuter train. Recently, he has promoted the idea of transforming the train from a regional, commuter rail system operating between Santa Fe and the southern...
Red Ink Express: Rising Losses and Low Ridership Show Rail Runner is an Increasingly Bad Deal for Taxpayers
The Rail Runner’s losses are mounting and its relatively low ridership makes it an incredibly inefficient mass transit system. Information obtained by the Rio Grande Foundation through a public records request shows the Rail Runner is proving to be the grossly...
The Issue is Higher Taxes, Not The Rail Runner
If you haven’t traveled between Santa Fe and Albuquerque recently along I-25, you may not be aware that the Rail Runner – Governor Richardson’s commuter rail train from Santa Fe through Albuquerque to Belen – is progressing rapidly. Tracks are being laid in hopes of...
Overspending Puts New Mexico in a Commuter Rail-Induced Budget Crisis
Editor's note: The following article appeared in the January, 2007 edition of Budget & Tax News which is published by the Heartland Institute www.heartland.org. The publication is distributed to state legislators and policymakers in all 50 states. When New Mexico...
Richardson’s Santa Fe Line
Bill Richardson has done a lot of things since becoming governor more than four years ago, including cut taxes. But what he hasn't done is earn his stripes as a "fiscal conservative." That may surprise those who follow the Democrat's presidential campaign. But there...
Public Rail is Off Track
The taxpayer outcry against Mayor Martin Chavez's proposed $270 million streetcar project succeeded in getting the City Council to come to its senses. Now it is time to turn our attention to broader questions of transportation planning. The Mid-Region Council of...
Income Tax Cut Worked, so Why Stop?
The Wall Street Journal recently praised Democrats — including New Mexico's own Bill Richardson — for cutting income taxes. Indeed, with neighboring Arizona and Oklahoma (states with Democrats in the role of chief executive) having enacted significant income tax cuts...
