ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—Gov. Susana Martinez wants a $2.35 million refund after the state Department of Transportation notified BNSF Railway Co. that New Mexico is terminating an agreement to buy 182 miles of track the state doesn’t need.
The Albuquerque Journal reports in a copyright story that former Gov. Bill Richardson’s administration paid nearly $5 million in 2008 for the track from Lamy, near Santa Fe, to the Colorado border.
The section was part of a package deal that enabled the state to launch the Rail Runner Express commuter train service between Belen and Santa Fe.
However, the Department of Transportation says BNSF never formally closed the deal to convey the track’s ownership.
The Martinez administration says that’s a breach of the purchase agreement.
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Information from: Albuquerque Journal,
