Rail Runner rubbish: Taxpayers stuck with $8M price tag

[@sirmagnus99]

Its this just how the government and especially NM operate. Give a big contract to a relative that then disappears with the money. Its a federal state. Embezzlement 101

[@MilitaryFusion]

​@@dalegurule9198 now hold on! Just how exactly was the debt "paid"??

[@sirmagnus99]

@dalegurule9198 and we still didn't get delivery of the product!! How in the hell do you think its ok because the tax payers paid up and got nothing g in return but out dated tech???

[@sirmagnus99]

@dalegurule9198 did you miss what this whole video was about? 8 million for outdated junk that will never work.

[@leechjim8023]

Wasn't there a warrantee on this crap!!?

[@virgilhilts3924]

$8,000,000 to give the handful of riders "free" internet... and it doesn't even work. BTW the entire route is covered by cell service with the exception of about 15 seconds when it crosses under I25

[@xsailor85]

“That money could have been spent on a war!”- Lenny from The Simpsons.

[@uriah6978]

Just like the rest of New Mexico, they waste money and are not held accountable. And the citizens are the ones who suffer. The politicians and executives of different departments just spend more money and they keep their jobs. If the citizens don’t vote these politicians out then they get what they get. It’s truly the worst state ever.

[@ReesesCupsable]

They should have hired a Japanese company that specializes in this area. Japan has had Wi-Fi on their railway forever.

[@wendigo53]

We🍁 have wifi on VIA passenger trains - where available. (I think it only works where there is good coverage for cars. So, not all rural areas.)

[@PatricioGarcia1973]

does japan rail run thru deserts and up to 7000ft?

[@leechjim8023]

​@@PatricioGarcia1973No, but they run as fast as racing cars!!!😂

[@glennfoster2423]

​@@PatricioGarcia1973 There are parts of JNR that run over miles of the sea between the island nation. Bet that doesn't lead to scratching the itch on one's forehead.

[@williamlloyd3769]

Wi-Fi on a train is a known technology. Wonder how they botched this installation?

[@johngreene6783]

Puts a lot of faith in 3rd party and state IT personnel, doesn't it?

[@ray6659]

30+ years in IT, how have they failed?

[@vallettapetracyneran8587]

Best as I can tell they failed to take into account for terran. A satellite uplink is probably what they should have done the first time round.

[@johngreene6783]

@@vallettapetracyneran8587 Yep

[@KenLee-e5y]

Bet the folks at StarLink have a solution for this at a fraction of the price

[@DavMovis_]

They went with that and it works now, though I'm sure most satellite internet would work. Elon might raise service fees though.

[@d3ltaLX]

@@DavMovis_ most satellite internet providors suck. ive had Viasat and hughesnet in 2 different states. Starlink is the only good one, tho the musk factor is a bit of a womp the prices went up 20 a month a while back

[@tobyray8700]

Bingo

[@brianswift2595]

$8 mil. In taxpayer money. But hey, NM is last in the Nation in child education and health . Great job.

[@presidentcamacho]

This. Isn't it just the weirdest way that Gov't prioritizes the needs of the people. "WI-FI on a moving object?" spend $8mil, "People are suffering" it was their choice. Such a dystopian way of problem solving. If only there was a person that could evaluate these problems and efficiently solve them...

[@Crosbie85]

All to go to mansions smh

[@Smart-Towel-RG-400]

What came first the chicken or the egg

[@bigj5119]

8 Million is a drop in a bucket from all the taxpayer money wasted here in N.M.

[@scottyo64]

No one wanted this train to begin with, thanks Bill for forcing this never ending tax payer boondoggle on NM

[@mauserdave]

That company was formed by someone on the inside. Made a single business deal to Railrunner and then folded and closed shop. Using old obsolete tech they bought at a bargain.

[@ryandavis7593]

I am not surprised in the least about Wabtec. Installation of event recorders and speedometers on locomotives I found some glaring defects and when I brought it to their attention I got blamed as the installer. Their game is deflecting blame.

[@chuckgilly]

It sounded like they said Webtech???? What do I know?

[@KAzik10001]

Just market it as a Social media detox train.

[@markmalasics3413]

Not having EVER been a slave to my mobile devices like most tech-addicts, I can't understand why people can't go a whopping 90 minutes without texting and other nonsense on their phones and laptops. Grow up, it's not THAT necessary.

[@presidentcamacho]

Yeah, people can't be still with themselves. People label themselves as ADHD or whatever the alphabet soup of disfunction they just learned about.

[@ge2623]

90 minutes?! More like 9 seconds.

[@rmstitanic89]

If you want to do that then go ahead. But if I have work I could be making progress on or if I just want to scroll Fb or listen to my streaming music I fully expect that to be accommodated on a train in 2024. This is not rocket science. They should be able to get working WiFi on this train. 🙄

[@BillLaBrie]

You’re not getting it: why take the train rather than drive?

[@virgilhilts3924]

The entire route has 5G cell service with the exception of about 15 seconds where it crosses under I25

[@welcome_to_the_collapse]

No wonder NM is such a mess. Is anyone actually in charge of this state?

[@virgilhilts3924]

Leftist clowns run the state... which is why it is such a disaster.

[@chuckgilly]

Blue State Brain Dead. The lights are on, but nobody is home.

[@chuckgilly]

This is a prime example of the Blue State Blues. NM is my home state, and I hang my head in shame.

[@DarkLink1996]

Meanwhile in Republican states, they're trying to push more pollution and more pedos like Trump

[@virgilhilts3924]

We have a property in ABQ, for us to go from there to our favorite restaurant in SF via the RailRunner entails... 30 minute drive to station 10 minute walk to station after parking and walking through a sea of vagrants/addicts 1 hour and 42 minute ride on Choo-Choo 20 minute walk to restaurant For a grand total of 2 hours and 42 minutes *Or we could walk into our garage, hop into our car & drive, and be seated at a table in less than an hour* 😆😅😂🤣 We could literally drive up, sit and eat dinner, then drive back home in the same amount of time it takes just to get there via Choo-Choo Yup... great use of over a BILLION taxpayer dollars

[@MA-vw1pl]

"new Mexico bright-minds"?! A natural contradiction in terms!!

[@johngreene6783]

Kind of like you not capitalizing the N in New Mexico. Another bright mind!

[@MA-vw1pl]

@johngreene6783 blame the phone

[@johngreene6783]

@@MA-vw1pl How about blame the typist and the lack of proof reading.

[@MA-vw1pl]

@johngreene6783 what for? The logic has been xferd

[@MA-vw1pl]

Do you actually have pride in this one-horse chili republic state?

[@bearx200]

Well it could be that to many are busy lining their pockets instead of solving a problem.

[@mattdaugherty7865]

Tell us you’re a “blue” state without telling us you’re a “blue” state!

[@virgilhilts3924]

Understatement 🤣

[@johngreene6783]

I get what you're saying, but there are equally inept Red states.

[@DarkLink1996]

​@@virgilhilts3924Maybe to braindead MAGATs

[@ao3dfjeri]

​@@johngreene6783 The difference is blue team thinks we can save the world if we just collect more taxes, red team is aware that we can't.

[@artvandelay7236]

Incompetence is more palatable than raw corruption

[@relentlesscactus]

I at least appreciate that the government officials are being straightforward about how bad this is. In Calfornia, they'd be making excuses. I hope they get their $5 million back from WabTec

[@vallettapetracyneran8587]

Honestly, I would take the train without Wi-Fi rather than spend $8 million on trying something that doesn't work. Especially when its tax dollars.

[@jeffcrivelli2906]

If you think that’s bad, look at the disaster we have here in Californiastanico ! 8 million? That’s what they waste on a good day here.

[@goldengirl652]

Most people have their cell phone which have access to internet. People in NM are slow to put it nice. The train is for transportation only!!!! NOT Wi-Fi

[@presidentcamacho]

Right. If the gov't doesn't want to pay my phone bill, why do they want to pay for WI-FI on a moving object? Seems like they prioritize the wrong issues.

[@rmstitanic89]

There is no excuse for passenger trains to not have WiFi access in 2024. This should be part of the service. If air travel made this happen there is zero excuses for trains to not have it.

[@virgilhilts3924]

@@rmstitanic89 The Airlines are a private business, charge for the service, and still manage to make a small profit. This stupid Choo-Choo has wasted over a billion taxpayer dollars, almost no one uses it, and it hemorrhages money every day.

[@JamesPfeiffer-z2j]

Interesting how Japan doesn't have a problem. Perhaps America should take some tips.

[@robertacanderson]

Why don’t hey just say we now use starlink because the others didn’t work?😂

[@presidentcamacho]

Starlink came into existence in 2019, 10 years after the RR.

[@xlandros]

I believe they do use Starlink now. It was briefly mentioned at the very end of the story that the RR now uses a “satellite” internet provider. NM is a blue state, so probably can’t bring themselves to mention anything positive about Elon.

[@michaelpatrick6485]

RF ( Radio Frequency ) propagation is a non-trivial technical problem, whether it's via towers, masts, or satellite - it isn't as simple as simply maintaining line of sight, either - terrain in proximity to both the transmitters and receivers reflects, refracts, and all these interfere with each other. Not to mention all the nearby and overhead metal objects along a railroad right of way. Satellite would over-simplistically seem to work, but those rely on the some number of satellites in the constellation visible above the local horizon, which along a rail track in high relief terrain would be constantly shifting as it goes through road cuts, tunnels, alongside cliffs, around curves, etc. My guess is that the contractors were 'flat landers' and never bothered to do an initial RF survey. Or just interviewed local first responders in communities along the route or ham clubs.

[@CaptArgo24]

Go transit was able to do it, 4 years ago. Same train set

[@Step-n-Wolf]

Don't pay until it works, simple.

[@n.hermann7200]

It is surprising that Wabtec wasn't able to figure out how to do train wifi of all things. They are a well-known rail equipment company, so Railrunner went with someone that should have known what they were doing.

[@m.an.4879]

So in the end they install a satellite system that works. Who made the decisions to spend $8M on a ground based system? Not like it was groundbreaking stuff. Poor management decisions.

[@rmstitanic89]

Agreed. Like if there are terrain issues why put in a terrain-based system? Just have satellite Internet for the WiFi access and be done with it. The airlines got this working so there is no excuse for passenger trains to not have this in 2024.

[@virgilhilts3924]

The entire Choo-Choo has already cost taxpayers over a billion dollars and is a complete failure... So what's another eight million flushed down the toilet 🤣

[@willr1401]

There should not be an apostrophe in the word Taxpayers in your title. Come on KRQE, I expect better from our local news source.

[@JohnMacFergus-oz5cp]

How were they convinced to go diesel in the end? Japan, Italy, the UK and France did it. Wi fi?

[@OBSMProductions]

Such a shame, it could've been put connectivity improvements or increased service. If people can't get 5G, it's only a 2 hour ride who cares.

[@presidentcamacho]

Exactly, funds were wasted because people don't want to pay for the hotspot feature from their provider.

[@rmstitanic89]

Because I fully expect a passenger service to have WiFi access in 2024. There is no excuse when airlines got this working with little issue.

[@ge2623]

"Rail Runner rubbish" (sic) Same first letter in each word of the headline. Nice.

[@johngreene6783]

Not surprised at all. Government waste is a very real nightmare. If these 3rd party vendors cannot make it work, why is the state not getting our money back. If I paid for something that doesn't work, I return that item and get a refund. Is the state really that stupid? Apparently so!

[@davidlaney6153]

$8M is that all, consider yourself lucky...mass transit is like lighting fire to a stack of $100's....

[@amywarengo4748]

Ridiculous $ Gone

[@petermiller9712]

Why was it not satellite wi fi/internet?

[@johnbrennan9584]

Public WIFI is notoriously vulnerable so I'm not sure why this is a priority, but maybe a star-link antenna/ system might work if it's a necessity.

[@JettaCity]

Money could have been used towards service expansion

[@virgilhilts3924]

Expansion...? Almost no one uses it... and you want to expand it? 🤣 I guess they have already flushed over a billion taxpayer dollars down the toilet on the stupid thing, so what's another eight million right?

[@kukuhpringgo]

Damn, even Argo Semeru compartment class has wifi 😂

[@garciaandres12]

Just don’t put WI-FI on the train. Problem solved.

[@jaynecobb1]

Yuup.

[@rmstitanic89]

Yeah no. Even air travel has working Wifi now. They should’ve looked at Satellite options instead of trackside towers. If planes can get this right the railroad has no excuse.

[@CJinsoo]

Passengers who want to connect can use their cell data.

[@jaynecobb1]

@@CJinsoo Exactly. They did not need to spend millions.

[@virgilhilts3924]

@@rmstitanic89 Spend your own money if you want internet

[@Clay-b1q]

Dewey C pocketed About 1.5 Million $$$

[@Prolificposter]

5:39 Why didn’t they go with the satellite system to begin with?

[@virgilhilts3924]

Why go with anything...? The entire route is covered by 5G except for about 15 seconds when it enters a tunnel under the interstate

[@mikeywestside8509]

Save your receipts

[@michaelsmiley15]

There are a number of services the the railroad will have to use for the wifi That fact the it cost millions of dollars is unacceptable This is simple Wifi is through either 5g or satellite The hardware is not the expensive The fact the it took 15 years to figure out the right system to use is ridiculous 8 million dollars totally unacceptable

[@geneard639]

Sadly the answer is complex if you insist on terrestrial installs, but if each car had a satellite antenna similar to commercial aircraft it would work. Sadly that is more $$.

[@Gfysimpletons]

Derelict state

[@alro11]

LOVE the Railrunner❤💛 i got the internet on a trip

[@virgilhilts3924]

Rail Runner... Biggest waste of taxpayer money in state history

[@charlessmith2377]

Its the vendor, tech always fails to deliver, any business person has had it happen. No regulatory agency at any level will help, nor will law enforcement and no legal team will volunteer or work at a friendly rate on any civil action. Is it possible that regular cellular service works all along the route and people can simply use their "hot spot" option? I don't have any expertise, so I have to think everyone knows more than me and that has been considered. Maybe Microsoft, Nvidia, Google or Open AI could put a crowbar in their wallets and help, I realize this cost might be problematic. After all, they have created more chaos and engendered more crime that anyone in History. Best to the Management, when things go bad, the right thing is to face it, try to figure out what else is possible, limit damage, protect jobs and move on. Thank you folks.

[@fatdaddy-viii-8672]

So, what wrong with cell phones like the entire rest of the country? Or Musk's StarLink. Both work great but I'm sure democrats 1st concern was how their wn corrupt pockets.

[@Crosbie85]

All to go to mansions smh

[@pmurt_kcuf]

should have went with a satellite to begin with

[@wanda7989]

So sad!!

[@donswearingen9805]

Electric cars are not commercially viable. No matter what they try to tell you.

[@samreagan6292]

Maybe we should have the right to repair the things we own

[@markmalasics3413]

Right, that will solve THIS issue. SMFH at the stupidity.

[@gotucker69a1]

WOW! and no one is going to lose their job, should have ask Elon Musk for help at the start.

[@HTV-2_Hypersonic_Glide_Vehicle]

😂😂😂😂😂 they solved this in Korea

[@julios19100]

This is what happens when you let democrats do things!!! Let's vote these idiots out and bring in some maga Republicans in and make NM Great Again!!!! Elon can solve these problems for sure.....smh

[@dalegurule9198]

Maga gonna pick the crops! 😂

[@OBSMProductions]

Elon and the Republicans don't usually like to fund trains.

[@treehugger1640]

@@dalegurule9198 Leftist gunna pick crops. With their pointless failed college degree's.

[@presidentcamacho]

Exactly, look at the healthcare system, repeal Obamacare and free up the hospitals. Repeal mandatory insurance on vehicles. Give us real freedom from gov't.

[@virgilhilts3924]

@@OBSMProductions They do not fund them... the taxpayer does

[@tobyray8700]

Just buy damn Starlink for the train….

[@ianhomerpura8937]

Now check how much goes to yet another road expansion project lol

[@pshodean]

Duh... Starlink.....

[@tvviewer4500]

You must be very young and have no concept of time or cost

[@presidentcamacho]

Starlink came into existence in 2019, 10 years after the RR.

[@pshodean]

@@tvviewer4500 @66 I've more than enough of govt waste. you want it done half as fast or less and at three time the cost, have at it.

[@tvviewer4500]

@@pshodean please write real sentences.

[@centredoorplugsthornton4112]

Do a story about millions wasted on roads and airports hardly used by anyone. Or if you're bashing rail, go back to 2008, the year Rail Runner began, and trace the beginning of Positive Train Control, federal mandate, railroad cost burden, the railroad equivalent of the first president Bush repeatedly scanning a carton of juice at a grocers convention.

[@kaecake9575]

Yet, KOB 4 is definitely "on your side."

[@richards1191]

The train was for transportation not for communications. Nothing wrong with no WiFi

[@rmstitanic89]

Wrong. If I’m riding a passenger train in 2024 and beyond I fully expect WiFi to be offered. If the airlines can get this figured out then there is no excuse for this metro line.

[@richards1191]

@ I guess that’s your priority. Mine is the train is on time and isn’t losing tax payers money

[@virgilhilts3924]

@@rmstitanic89 Use your cell phone and pay for your own data

[@johepple5124]

It’s NM, so no surprise 😂😂

[@akita96th]

It would have been cheaper to use starlink

[@KeithReagan7]

Those idiots must have never heard of starlink.😂😂 you don't need towers. Probably would have cost a 5th of that

[@virgilhilts3924]

They didn't even need that... The entire route is covered by 5G cell service

[@pir8prod]

DOGE, where you at?

[@dalegurule9198]

Pipe dream! 😢

[@OBSMProductions]

You must be joking

[@presidentcamacho]

Exactly, repeal mandatory vehicle insurance.

[@wendigo53]

That is federal, not state.

Yes it cost a lot of money and mistakes get made but if you don't try you won't ever succeed and you can learn a lot from mistakes. It's how SpaceX works.

[@EarthScienceGuy]

How is this even a story? They signed a contract with a wifi company, it went out of business, and now they’re looking to replace it. Where’s the story?

[@chuckgilly]

Twice!

[@refereeaz204]

Call Elon

[@johepple5124]

The Princess Lujan would never do a smart thing like that.😂😂

[@mph6502]

The whole rail runner has been nothing but a waste of money.

[@isaacalvarado7656]

You think the rail runner is a waste of money, people actually use it. ART was a real waste.

[@OBSMProductions]

@@isaacalvarado7656 ART provided half a billion dollars worth of development to the city, and increased traffic throughput while making Central more pedestrian friendly. Spending $1 billion on the i-25 interchanges in the city for the next 3 years is a real waste when the whole commuter rail system was a third of that.

[@dalegurule9198]

Tell that to the commuters that use it every day.

[@shabblabbat]

@@dalegurule9198 the question is, does it pay for itself or is it a subsidy for a small section of the population that commutes daily?

[@dalegurule9198]

@shabblabbat The Rail Runner was financed by the federal government, with free yearly maintenance costs. The debt will be payed off in 2025.The Rail Runner was not built for a profit but more as a service to NM citizens, even though it will start building more revenue after the debt is payed off.

[@madmotorcyclist]

That's nothing, California's bullet train to nowhere has wasted nearly 12 billion dollars so far.

[@ronaldlee3537]

That project is about to be cancelled, when Trump get sworn in on Jan 20th. A huge portion of that project is funded with federal money.

[@madmotorcyclist]

@@ronaldlee3537 Should have been cancelled years ago.

[@StrikeBuster-b2b]

Electronic do-dads.

[@treehugger1640]

People graduate but they still stupid. VOTE BLUE they say lol FAIL hahahahahahhahahaha

[@presidentcamacho]

True, look at waste of space handicap parking takes up, they don't drive, why have the space? Another ridiculous fail are sidewalks and bike lanes, people are fat and lazy, nobody walks anymore unless you poor.

[@PlanePreacher]

So, what is that satellite internet system? SpaceX and Elon Musk… Starlink? Why didn’t you say?

[@bradhuffjr777]

Starlink?

[@_DB.COOPER]

Bonglink!

[@_xXthefearedXx]

Yeah sounds about right raton built a bike lane for a area where no one uses it and it’s just becoming a eye sore

[@presidentcamacho]

Exactly, why do we even have sidewalks too? I don't see people walking, look at the tortas. Bike lanes, sidewalks, and other meaningless "what-if's" don't apply to all situations. Why do we even have handicap parking?

[@_xXthefearedXx]

@ hey ur stating facts lol 😂

[@RA-II]

Starlink

[@jimlincoln2313]

Thanks to Elon

[@dfirth224]

State funded trains in California have had wifi for several years now. It's very popular with customers.

[@propblast82nd]

Sooo Progressive

[@presidentcamacho]

just like the waste of bike lanes and sidewalks, people don't use those to get around, they use their car. Also another progressive thing that is dumb, mandatory insurance on vehicles. Let's keep it conservative and keep gov't out of our lives. If people can't drive to wal-mart, stay home and order doordash.

[@DavMovis_]

@@presidentcamacho Maybe if we didn't have dumb government mandated zoning and the only rule was no factories next to homes, maybe there would be mini walmarts down the block. Then we could take some of our public space back from cars and streets would be more for people again. Then those disconnected bike lanes and paths wouldn't seem so redundant. The rest of the world did that, and hell America used to.

[@hornal1998]

Amtrak doesn't have wifi either. I know because I rode the train from ABQ to Portland. Took three days. No wifi.

[@planesandbikes7353]

Starlink to the rescue again. Cheap simple easy, works great on ships and planes and trains everywhere. Same with folks living in remote wilderness areas.

[@Cucumberflavoredmustard]

Brought to you by the same people who did the El Camino Real Museum, no doubt.

[@C25-150]

You don’t need Wi-Fi on trains, planes or cars. If you depend on that to survive, you should live in the woods and live with the bare necessities for awhile

[@DarkLink1996]

What about students & workers who want to work on their assignments?

[@C25-150]

@ they can patiently wait to get home or to their place of school or work

[@DarkLink1996]

@C25-150 Not many people have Internet or work a job after school

[@C25-150]

@@DarkLink1996 they can go to the library for internet

[@DarkLink1996]

@C25-150 Not everyone lives close to a Library

[@CJinsoo]

It’s a product that is not needed. Make the passengers use their cell data, duhh!

[@virgilhilts3924]

The whole train wasn't needed... Which is why almost no one uses it.

[@ezone913]

Follow the money. Are you just pretending to be journalist?

[@KarlDahlquist]

Funny, people said this would happen. I bet Starlink would work

[@joshuauriarte452]

Amtrak still doesnt have Wifi on a good portion of their trains. Why? Lack of network coverage. If Amtrak is having this issue, The rail runner will also have this issue.

[@oledennis6918]

Isn't this typical results for a big old liberal project?

[@kellymunsey2341]

Jeez.... disconnect for a while, read a book, do something that doesn't cost the taxpayers millions 🙄

[@Achil147]

Maybe you all should have consulted with Elon Musk?? Especially after the first two attempts.

[@YouTubeAccount-hq6oz]

Yet somehow Amtrak does it seamlessly???

[@virgilhilts3924]

Amtrak is well known for either: a) Not having any service in most areas b) Having bad/intermittent in the areas it does have coverage

[@harveyh3696]

Starlink. Works great on Hawaiian Airlines A330's.