The News-Bulletin: Commuter van halts rides to
Albuquerque by Jane Moorman News-Bulletin Staff Writer; jmoorman@news-bulletin.com
Los Lunas Commuters using the Village of
Los Lunas’ transportation van to travel to jobs or school in Albuquerque each day are having to scramble to find rides. …
The
commuter van had a limited route into Albuquerque with stops at the University of New Mexico and the hospitals.
Otero said there
was light use by area residents but there were several established riders who depended upon it. …
“We are working as hard as we
can to get the Rail Runner up and running,” said Chris Blewett, director of transportation and planning services for Mid-Region Council
of Governments, which is coordinating the commuter rail project.
Originally Gov. Bill Richardson set the start-up date as November
of this year, but now that date has been moved to late 2005 or early 2006.
Work on the rail platforms in Los Lunas and Belen has
not begun. Blewett said construction should begin in early October in Los Lunas for sure, but negotiation with the Burlington Northern
Santa Fe Railroad could delay the Belen construction.
Meanwhile, Otero said his department is canceling the commuter van in
preparation for developing additional routes within the Los Lunas area to take commuters to the rail station, which will be
located at Courthouse Road and the railroad tracks.
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RailRunner Home Page
Google Maps – Courthouse Road and N.M. 314, Los Lunas, New Mexico