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With two new stations coming this month and everyone now paying for tickets, ridership on the New Mexico Rail Runner Express is averaging about 2,000 riders every day - about twice as many as the low point from late last year.

And thanks to rising gas prices and the recreational travelers of summer, the numbers promise to rise, a transportation official says.

Having debuted in July, the Rail Runner attracted 4,000 to 4,500 daily riders at first, thanks largely to free trips and the novelty factor. Back then, the trains ran only from Albuquerque to Bernalillo.

With the introduction of fares, ridership gradually dipped to around 1,000, but rebounded as stations in Los Lunas and Belen came online in December and February. Fares range from $1 to $3 each way.

Valencia County riders didn't pay until April 1, but the new fare hasn't been a deterrent, said Lawrence Rael, executive director of the Mid-Region Council of Governments, the organization that runs the train.

"Ridership actually stayed pretty steady," he said.

Chalk it up to the daunting prospect of a much longer commute from Belen or Los Lunas to Albuquerque, he said. (Belen is 35 miles from Albuquerque; Los Lunas, 23; Bernalillo, 17.)

Rael said he would expect ridership to creep upward along with the price of gas, which is averaging $2.76 per gallon in Albuquerque, up 33 cents from a month ago, according to AAA.

Across the nation, public transit agencies routinely see ridership spikes when gas prices rise.

Summer could also bring new riders, as youths in the outlying areas use the train for a trip to the big city. Rael said the Rail Runner experienced a taste of that over spring break, when daily ridership peaked at 3,700.

The $393 million project is scheduled to extend to Santa Fe by late 2008.

New stations are opening this month in downtown Bernalillo and in the South Valley at Rio Bravo Boulevard, where a new ABQ Ride bus route will ferry passengers to the Albuquerque International Sunport or to Coors Boulevard Southwest, said ABQ Ride spokesman Jay Faught.

In other Rail Runner news:

The council of governments is considering adding summer Saturday service.

A new station at Montaño Road is in the works. The Legislature set aside $1.5 million for the project in its recent session. Rael said that's enough to acquire land and design a station, but building it will take more money. With the right funding, the station will come online in 18 months or so.

Stations serving the Sandia and Isleta pueblos are still in the negotiation stage, Rael said.