Rail Runner Ridership Rises Slightly to 601,417

In the wake of the Rail Runner’s ridership collapse during the COVID 19 pandemic, the number of riders on the New Mexico Rail Runner Express continued to rebound slightly in 2024. The 2024 number is a slight, 2.6% increase over 2023’s number. It appears to represent a “new normal” for the commuter train system.

Of course, ridership remains well below what it was in 2019. And, given these numbers the Rail Runner remains a net carbon emitter relative to driving your personal vehicle. In 2024 the Legislative Finance Committee reported that ridership would need to be increased by 23% in order to simply break even on CO2 emissions.

Even these numbers are a big drop from those seen in the initial years of the Rail Runner which can be seen below: