Passenger demand has train planners considering parking expansion at stations north of Albuquerque where commuters and casual travelers board the New Mexico Rail Runner Express heading to Santa Fe.

During this past week of train service between the two cities, more than 33,000 passengers climbed aboard, leaving parking lots full or mostly full at stations in Los Ranchos and in Sandoval County, said Chris Blewett, project manager for the Mid-Region Council of Governments.

Thirty new spaces will soon be added to the Sandoval/N.M. 550 station, bringing the number of vehicles that can park in lots on both sides of the tracks there to 454.

At the Los Ranchos station near the Journal Center, cars may park on the shoulder of La Puebla Road if the lot's 140 parking spaces are occupied. For now, that is acceptable, Blewett said. In the future, other options include using land north or west of the station for new lots.

Planners are not in a hurry, however, until rider patterns are more established.

"We just want to make sure this all works," Blewett said. "We don't think we have had a normal day of operation yet because of when we started. Different things are happening during the holidays. There are less people working, but more people doing things like riding the train. Part of getting a handle on some of this is waiting a little bit longer to really see what we need to do to address parking."

Meanwhile, parking at the Santa Fe end has not been as crunched. The city's underground garage at the Railyard has plenty of available parking for an hourly fee every day except Saturday, when Farmers Market patrons occupy many of the spaces, said Bill Hon, parking-division director.

"There were about 2,000 people who rode the train in today and were milling around downtown," he said Monday. "We are getting a lot of activity on the Railyard, and we are getting a lot of people coming up on the train, but as far as activity in the parking garage, it's still underutilized."

No reports of parking shortages have surfaced at the South Capital station near the Department of Transportation headquarters between Alta Vista Street and Cordova Road, where about 200 spaces are open for train riders, said Blewett.

The largest train parking lot planned for the Santa Fe area will be at N.M. 599 and Interstate 25, where about 200 spaces are on the drawing board. That station, which is slated to include a pedestrian bypass over the interstate, recently earned federal approval from highway-safety officials and construction should begin in a few week, Blewett said. It should be open for service in the spring.

Ridership has been strong during the opening days of the service, according to figures provided Monday by the Council of Governments, on contract with the state to oversee the train. On Saturday, nearly 12,000 people boarded trains between Belen and Santa Fe, which officials say marked the commuter train's biggest day. The passenger count Sunday came in at nearly 9,000 riders, bringing the total number of passengers taking advantage of free weekend holiday service to more than 20,000.

Train officials doubled the number of trains to accommodate passengers wanting to ride after the first free weekend. The Rail Runner's free weekend holiday service is scheduled to end Sunday.

"The public response really demonstrates that people are excited about being able to take the Rail Runner to Santa Fe," said a statement issued by state Transportation Secretary Rhonda Faught. "This is good news for weekday commuters as well as those who simply want to have transportation to the capital city."

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