The Rail Runner's Late Friday Train Is Gone, and Saturday Is Now the Railyard's Late Night

The weekday timetable Rio Metro printed for this winter has a Santa Fe Depot row that reads, left to right, from 5:39A to 9:00P. That last number has applied to every weeknight since November 1. Before then, Thursday and Friday had one more column. It read 10:05P.

For anyone in the Guadalupe and Railyard blocks who hosts friends from Albuquerque, walks them over to the Depot, and waves the train off, the schedule decides when the evening ends. This winter the evening ends at 9:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and runs until May.

One more train, one less late hour

Rio Metro's October 14 notice reads like added service. Train #525 used to run only on Thursdays and Fridays and now runs every weekday. But the same notice moves both evening trains earlier.

Early in the week, the last train leaves at the same hour as before, and there's now a second option an hour earlier. Thursdays and Fridays lost their latest hour. The 9:00 p.m. train gets to South Capitol at 9:05 and Downtown Albuquerque at 10:32. The 8:00 p.m. train reaches Downtown Albuquerque at 9:32.

Earlier in the evening, the weekday departures from the Depot are 4:15, 5:04, 5:30 and 6:46 p.m. Guests coming up for the evening have a limit too. The last weekday northbound train pulls into Santa Fe Depot at 8:38 p.m. The other new train, #100 Express, leaves Downtown Albuquerque at 3:54 a.m. and arrives at the Depot at 5:24 a.m.

Friday is where the hour went

The district's dinner hours didn't change with the train schedule. On Fridays, the gap between the two is now a full hour.

Cowgirl BBQ at 319 S Guadalupe St keeps these hours:

• Monday: open until 10 p.m.
• Tuesday through Thursday: open until 9 p.m.
• Friday and Saturday: open until 10 p.m.
• Sunday: open until 9 p.m.

Tuesday through Thursday, the kitchen closes at the same minute the last train leaves the Depot, so anyone catching it has to settle the check before then. On Mondays and Fridays the restaurant stays open an hour past the last train. Until this month, the Friday hour from 9 to 10 had a 10:05 train after it. Now it doesn't.

Second Street Brewery at the Railyard, at 1607 Paseo de Peralta, opens onto the Railyard Plaza and pours until 10 p.m. Monday through Friday. Railyard Park at 740 Cerrillos Road is open daily until 10 p.m. as well. On a weeknight, the neighborhood's places stay open about an hour after the last train has gone.

That makes the early part of a Friday more useful. At 1606 Paseo de Peralta, SITE Santa Fe offers a free public tour every Friday at 5:30 p.m. Start at SITE, eat at Cowgirl or Second Street, and you're on the platform for the 8:00 or the 9:00 without rushing. The Railyard calendar also lists LewAllen Galleries' Ron Kingswod show, In a Silent Way, for Friday, November 13, the day after this post goes up.

Saturday keeps the late train

The weekend timetable didn't change, so in a regular week the only late train runs on Saturday.

On Saturdays, the last southbound train leaves Santa Fe Depot at 10:14 p.m., and the last northbound train arrives at 9:58 p.m. In a regular week, this is the one train that leaves after Cowgirl's 10 p.m. close. A guest can finish dinner and still catch it.

Sunday goes the other way. The last southbound train leaves at 8:10 p.m., and the last northbound train arrives at 7:55. Sunday still works for daytime visits. The Railyard Artisan Market runs 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sundays, and the first Sunday southbound train leaves the Depot at 10:00 a.m. El Mercado at El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe, 555 Camino de la Familia, is on the Railyard calendar for Sundays, November 15 and 22.

The cost of a visit stays the same whichever day guests choose. According to Rio Metro's fare brochure, Santa Fe to Albuquerque counts as five zones. A one-way full fare is $9, and a five-zone day pass is $10 onboard or $9 in the app or online. A round trip on a day pass costs about the same as a single one-way ticket.

Thanksgiving week runs on its own clock

Holidays change the weekday pattern, and the Railyard's busiest shopping weekend lands right in the middle of the changes.

1. Tuesday, November 24. The combined Santa Fe Farmers' Market and Railyard Artisan Market runs 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on a regular weekday schedule.
2. Thursday, November 26. There is no Rail Runner service on Thanksgiving Day.
3. Friday, November 27. The train runs on the Saturday schedule. The Black Friday Railyard Artisan Market runs 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and SITE Santa Fe's Fall Book Sale opens the same day and runs through November 29.
4. Saturday, November 28. The Santa Fe Farmers' Market runs 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
5. Sunday, November 29. The Railyard Artisan Market runs 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the last train south leaves at 8:10 p.m.

Since Black Friday runs on the Saturday timetable, it gets the 10:14 p.m. last train. That makes the Friday after Thanksgiving the only Friday this winter with a train after 9:00. The Tuesday market keeps going into December, with a combined Farmers' and Artisan Market on the calendar for December 1.

Veterans Day isn't one of the exceptions. On Wednesday, November 11, the trains run the regular weekday schedule.

December's two Friday events end at nine

Two Friday-night holiday events in the Railyard close right at 9:00. On a weeknight that's the departure time of the last train, not just the end of the event.

SITE Santa Fe's Annual Members Holiday Party runs 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, December 4. One week later, String of Lights, A Holiday Market, fills the Santa Fe Railyard Market Pavilion at 1607 Paseo de Peralta with more than 60 makers, plus food and drink, from 3 to 9 p.m. on Friday, December 11.

The Rail Runner leaves at 9:00 p.m. on both nights. A guest who stays at either event until closing will miss the train. For the market, the 8:00 p.m. train is the more realistic pick. It still leaves five hours to shop, and guests get to Downtown Albuquerque at 9:32.

Later in the month there's one more gap. The Rail Runner doesn't run on Christmas Day, Friday, December 25. To keep the whole season's times handy, the weekday and weekend schedule PDFs cover November 2026 through May 2027. Rio Metro customer service answers trip-planning questions at 505-245-7245.

Our team keeps up with the Railyard's calendar the same way, from the Saturday markets to the first train on Sunday morning. If you'd like a neighbor's read on the Guadalupe and Railyard blocks, Bunny Terry is glad to share it over coffee by the Depot. Start your Santa Fe story.