Train Engineer Tim Reed knew he always wanted a family… but he says he also wanted a stable wage-earning job. What he didn’t know was that going to work for the New Mexico Rail Runner Express would bring him both! Tim actually started working as a conductor in March of 2006, four-months before the Rail Runner began service.

“I always felt lucky to get on with the Rail Runner”, says Reed. “In addition to enjoying the job, I also really liked getting to know the passengers. The train provides a very friendly social environment.”

Tim recalls that among the many passengers there was one in particular who really stood out. It was a woman who would board the train each weekday in Los Lunas, and ride to the Los Ranchos/Journal Center station where she would get off the train and go to work.

“I remember she always had headphones on, or would get on the train and immediately fall asleep… so I could never get a chance to talk to her.”

To his surprise, Tim says that one day the woman got on the train in the afternoon and did not put headphones on, and did not settle into her seat for a nap. After a few days of making a point to talk to her, he decided he would ask her out on a date.

“I took a shot – I gave her my phone number and then bet her 10-dollars that she wouldn’t call me, but she did!