SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — State records show that New Mexico has paid nearly $8 million to settle damage claims against the Rail Runner Express.
But the commuter rail system, until last month, made no premium payments into the state’s self-insurance program that provides liability coverage for settlements of lawsuits against government agencies. The insurance arrangement represented a little-known subsidy for the state-owned passenger train.
According to General Services Department records, the taxpayer-financed liability fund has covered $7.7 million in settlements involving the Rail Runner since it started in mid-2006. Those settlements include about $4 million for wrongful death claims for car-train accidents that killed three people in 2007.
Gov. Susana Martinez’s administration assessed a $2 million annual insurance premium on the Rail Runner for the budget year that began last month.
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