Rail Runner anticipates opening never-used Zia rail station

The New Mexico Rail Runner Express is advancing plans to open a rail station at the intersection of Zia Road and St. Francis Drive, in Santa Fe, N.M., Rio Metro Regional Transit District (Rio Metro) announced this month.

The station was built in 2008, but never opened. The city has located a developer who will post a $150,000 bond to cover the design and construction of a nearby mixed-use development, which includes parking, a passenger drop-off area and improvements to ensure the station complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Rio Metro officials said in a press release.

Officials have not yet set a timeline for completion of that construction project.

The station's opening was delayed by a study of its impact on street traffic, according to TV station KOAT. Earlier this year, the city's planning commission completed that study, which found that traffic would continue to operate at acceptable levels once the rail station opened.

Stops at the Zia station already have been worked into the train's existing schedule, Rio Metro officials said.