A gross-receipts tax to help fund commuter rail operations kicks in July 1, but a New Mexico Rail Runner Express spending plan doesn't call for service expansion any time soon.

Despite frequent requests to add Sunday service to the current Monday-through-Saturday schedule, trains will continue to rest on Sundays.

"I can't live within our means and say that we are going to do Sunday service immediately," said Lawrence Rael, executive director of the Rio Metro Regional Transit District and the Mid-Region Council of Government, under contract to oversee train operations. "We just have to see how these revenues hold up as we go through the year."

Costs for the trains that run along the Rio Grande Valley from Santa Fe as far south as Belen are budgeted at about $22 million during the fiscal year that begins July 1.

This week, regional transit district officials in the Albuquerque area approved a train budget that depends largely on revenue from gross-receipts tax levies in Santa Fe County and elsewhere.

A voter-approved tax of about 13 cents per $100 also will be levied on goods and services in Bernalillo, Sandoval and Valencia counties. Similar tax levies in Taos, San Miguel and Rio Arriba counties will fund bus operations.

Although collections begin in July, the transit district does not expect its $14 million share of the tax money to be distributed by the state until the fall. Of that cash, about $2 million is expected to come from Santa Fe County, where half the new tax money will go toward the train and the other half to various transportation programs that haven't yet been designated.

The state will funnel to the project about $6 million in federal transit grants and revenue from track usage by other carriers. The rest of the needed revenue, about $2 million, is expected to come from train fares.

"It really is a very conservative number based on the last quarter of operations," Rael said. "My personal opinion is that it is going to be higher than that."

While fares could bring in more cash, it's unlikely that slumping tax revenues will be stable. Estimates are about 4 percent below numbers derived from last year's business activity in the seven counties and might need to be adjusted, Rael said.

Federal funds were used to establish the Rail Runner operation, which initially was offered in the Albuquerque area. Train service to Santa Fe began in December.

Contact Julie Ann Grimm at 986-3017 or jgrimm@sfnewmexican.com.