It’s Time For Trains, Not More Lanes
It is high time that New Mexico recognizes the flaws in our dependence on non-renewable vehicle infrastructure that not only does little to alleviate ever-growing congestion but also furthers our dependence on dying oil and gas industries; draining our taxes for limited, short-term gains and industries who lobby to erase their tax burden for our resources.
It is demonstrable with only the briefest of looks at urban centers like Los Angeles, New York City, or Austin that increasing road infrastructure does nothing to decrease congestion and infrastructure costs in the long-term. In fact, it is obvious that the continued expansion of vehicle-only roadways serves to further divide communities – predominantly underserved, majority-minority neighborhoods – while increasing dependence on nonviable sources of fuel and environmentally damaging vehicle manufacturing processes. Alternatively, public transport like buses, subways, trams, and trains serves to relieve these issues by sizeable margins in terms of sustainability as well as in relation to long-term economic costs for residents and visitors.
As it is, New Mexico already possesses everything it needs to make long-distance transportation to every corner of the state via rail a reality. From existing train lines and rail networks that have been steadily defunded, privatized, and left to rust to the unending availability of solar and wind power across our vast public lands, New Mexico is in a position to develop the most technologically progressive highspeed train infrastructure in the United States; in so doing, creating a safer, more sustainable, and more accessible public option that limits our over-reliance on inefficient roadways.
In something that can only be described as a dream today, imagine being able to take a high-speed train from Las Cruces to Santa Fe or from Albuquerque to Taos or Ruidoso or Silver City. Imagine local goods, grown and manufactured on our own soil, being easily and sustainably transported to all our communities along renewed freight networks in a more timely, efficient manner and for use by us all. Imagine our roadways through the beautiful high desert and mountains free of the overbearing presence of volatile, under-policed long-haul trucks; privately owned Texas oil companies destroying eastern arteries with zero recourse beyond more asphalt on the public’s dime.
Not only do passenger railways generate an astounding amount of service-related jobs, the maintenance of the lines themselves requires a large workforce of technicians and engineers throughout the entire lifespan of the system. Such projects are an opportunity to create long-term, well-paying public jobs, to tighten community ties economically as communities find themselves more enabled than ever before. We can connectthe future talent of every corner of the state to the education opportunities provided by centers like Socorro, Las Cruces, and Albuquerque without demanding the long-term costs, risks, and hurdles of owning a vehicle.
Today, we are at a tipping point. We have miles of opportunity and generations of available expertise, a population seeking change and demanding renewed investment. We are held back by outdated modes which demand that one sacrifice all else in order to access one of the few places with options for growth. Where a six-hour drive to and from school may be unthinkable, three on a train seems entirely feasible after spending that on a bus every day as a rural schoolkid. Given the opportunity as a young man, perhaps I may never have moved from my hometown if I could have accessed high-quality education and experiences in a realistic manner earlier.
It sounds fantastical. It honestly does. Yet looking at the world from Spain to China to Germany to Japan to Turkey to South Korea, high speed rail has been implemental in not only releasing communities from the strictures of inefficient vehicle infrastructure but also in allowing for greater access and connection for all communities.
It is not a fantasy here either. With a concerted effort we too can lessen our dependence on failing roadway infrastructure; can encourage a better maintained, if smaller, vehicle roadway system overall, and build a more interconnected and sustainable future for all New Mexicans.
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