HOUSE TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 26

49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2009

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO STUDY THE FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING A COMMUTER RAIL SERVICE BETWEEN LAS CRUCES AND EL PASO, TEXAS.

     WHEREAS, the "Rail Runner Express" is a commuter rail service that runs between Belen and Santa Fe carrying people to work, stores, entertainment and tourist attractions; and

     WHEREAS, to date, two phases of the Rail Runner Express have been completed, and the availability of this commuter option has reduced the burden on commuters of skyrocketing gasoline prices; and

     WHEREAS, phase one extended commuter rail service from Belen to the town of Bernalillo in July 2006; and

     WHEREAS, phase two extended commuter rail service from Bernalillo to Santa Fe, completing the entire route from Belen to Santa Fe in December 2008; and

     WHEREAS, the residents of Las Cruces and Dona Ana county would like to see rail service provided for commuters between Las Cruces and El Paso, Texas; and

     WHEREAS, Las Cruces has been ranked as one of the fastest- growing communities in the United States for the last decade and is now the second-largest city in New Mexico, and Dona Ana county is the second-largest county in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, the combined population of Dona Ana county, El Paso county and the Juarez area is expected to surpass three million five hundred thousand by 2010; and

     WHEREAS, work commuting data indicates there are well over twenty thousand commuters that travel between Dona Ana county, El Paso county and the Juarez area; and

      WHEREAS, Dona Ana county does not have large passenger air travel available, making it necessary for residents of that county to travel to the El Paso international airport, which serves well over three million passengers per year; and

      WHEREAS, reciprocal in-state tuition programs are in place at New Mexico state university, the university of Texas at El Paso and El Paso community college, which would provide additional incentives and opportunities for students on both sides of the state line; and

     WHEREAS, many people have a need to travel regularly between Las Cruces and El Paso for meetings and to conduct business; and

     WHEREAS, the combined factors of a strong business community, the proximity of Las Cruces to El Paso and Juarez and the current and projected population growth suggest that potentially great value could be realized by connecting these vital communities;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the department of transportation be requested to complete a feasibility study to determine possible routes, optimum frequency of trips and potential costs of developing a commuter rail service from Las Cruces to El Paso, including coordination on the study with the Texas department of transportation; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study should create plans that can be set into action to maximize the use of possible funds that New Mexico, Texas and the federal government may make available in the future for public transit systems; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that those plans should also consider the need to ease the congestion on interstate highways running between Las Cruces and El Paso to reduce the need for expansion of highways and the costs of maintaining those highways; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the feasibility study, to the extent study resources are available, consider the expansion of the commuter rail system north of Las Cruces to the New Mexico spaceport and other New Mexico areas of interest, including eventual connection with the Rail Runner Express; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the feasibility study, when complete, be presented to appropriate legislative interim committees by November 2010 and that a copy be submitted to the library of the legislative council service; and

      BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary-designate of transportation and the governor.

- 4 -