Transit center opens in Albuquerque

City officials and other dignitaries on Monday marked the opening of the Montaño Transit Center in Albuquerque, N.M., which will accommodate New Mexico Rail Runner Express and bus passengers.

The facility will serve Albuquerque’s growing North Valley and Montaño/Montgomery river-crossing corridor. The pueblo-revival-style rail platform and station cost $7.1 million, of which federal sources covered 78 percent of the total and local sources, 22 percent.

"The Montano Transit Center is a welcome addition to the neighborhood that will open a bigger stretch of the North Valley to greater economic development opportunities," said Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry in a press release. "It will also bring affordable public transportation to even more Albuquerque residents."

New Mexico Rail Runner Express will make seven north and southbound stops at the transit center on weekdays, as well as four on Saturdays and three on Sundays.

"The Montano Transit Center will become a new spoke in the alternative transportation wheel. This new station opens the door for new passengers to use the Rail Runner for both commuting to work and taking the train for leisurely trips to Santa Fe," said Dewey Cave, executive director of the Mid-Region Council of Governments.