After years of delays, Zia Station set to open
Rail Runner to begin service April 24 at stop near St. Francis, Zia intersection
Pucker your lips: New Mexico Rail Runner Express service at the so-called kiss-and-ride station off West Zia Road and South St. Francis Drive is finally scheduled to begin next month.
It’s been a long time coming for the commuter train station, expected to open April 24.
The development firm, SF Brown, originally pitched its 20-acre parcel of land for a train stop before the Rail Runner began service to Santa Fe in 2008. Officials moved forward with the public-private partnership allowing the firm to maintain the station and build a mixed-use development around it. Constructed with $2 million in state funds, the station has sat empty through years of delays caused by negotiations on the development deal and opposition from some residents in the surrounding Candlelight neighborhood.
Keith Wilson, senior planner with the joint city-county Santa Fe Metropolitan Planning Organization, told a Santa Fe City Council committee in January that the trains would not stop at Zia Station during peak traffic hours. He added that officials would monitor the trains’ impact on traffic to address neighbors’ concerns. Still, not all residents are happy. Thomas Nichols, 67, who is retired and has been disabled since birth, said the station isn’t easily accessible
for people who use wheelchairs and walkers. He said the city needs to implement crosswalks at nearby Galisteo Road to ensure drivers are more aware of pedestrians.
If the commuter train station is being considered a public facility, he said, then anyone should be able to have easy access to it.
SF Brown owner Merritt Brown could not be reached to comment on the station’s scheduled opening.
Officials with the Rio Metro Regional Transit District, which runs the Rail Runner, said earlier this year they did not expect delays in travel times as a result of the additional stop at Zia Station.
A comparison of the new schedule and the old schedule shows that Rail Runner officials expect the new stop to add travel time to some trips when it opens, but not others.
A rider boarding the 5:39 a.m. southbound train at the Santa Fe Depot is still scheduled to arrive at the Rail Runner’s downtown Albuquerque station at 7:10 a.m. on weekdays. But a rider who catches the northbound train in downtown Albuquerque at 7:19 a.m. on a weekday is now scheduled to arrive at the Santa Fe Depot at 9:01 a.m. That’s a few extra minutes from the previously scheduled arrival time of 8:59 a.m.
Rio Metro this year also proposed adding a 10:56 a.m. northbound train from downtown Albuquerque on Saturdays and Sundays to coincide with the Zia Station scheduling changes. But the additional stop does not appear on the newly released schedule. An official with Rio Metro did not return requests for comment on Friday.
On weekdays, the additional stop at Zia Station will be helpful for southbound riders who hit the snooze button one too many times.
Southbound trains will depart Zia Station at 5:49 a.m weekdays. That will be the third and final stop in Santa Fe city limits, just after the 5:39 a.m. departure from the Santa Fe Depot in the Railyard and the 5:43 departure from the South Capitol station. The 6:01 a.m. southbound stop at N.M. 599 has not changed.
After the early bird train, southbound riders departing Santa Fe will get six more opportunities on weekdays to catch the Rail Runner at Zia Station. Southbound departures from Zia Station are scheduled at 7:25 a.m.; 1:14 p.m.; 4:27 p.m.; 5:42 p.m.; 6:58 p.m.; and 9:12 p.m. weekdays.
Northbound riders will have six opportunities each weekday to alight at Zia Station. Northbound drop-offs during the week are scheduled at Zia Station at 5:58 a.m.; 6:28 a.m.; 8:49 a.m.; 11:01 a.m.; 5:53 p.m.; 7:07 p.m. 8:23 p.m.
Northbound and southbound trains will stop four times at Zia Station on Saturdays and three times on Sundays. Northbound riders on Saturdays may board at Zia Station on Saturdays at 9:52 a.m., 2:47 p.m., 7:42 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. Trains are scheduled to depart Zia Station at the same times on Sundays, but the final stop is not available.
Southbound riders can board the Rail Runner at Zia Station on Saturdays at 10:33 a.m., 3:28 p.m., 8:23 p.m. and 10:27 p.m. On Sundays the train is scheduled to depart Zia Station at the same times, except for the final stop.