(Rail Runner | KRQE File) NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Consider some of the greatest technology breakthroughs of the past six decades: We unlocked the secrets of DNA. Commercially viable electric automobiles became a reality. And then there was the moonwalk. But there’s one technological development that has proven stubbornly elusive. Long ago we figured out how to land a man on the moon, but today we can't seem to get Wi-Fi to work on a moving train. Case in point, the Rail Runner. Some of the brightest minds in New Mexico devoted more than a decade to the problem. However, despite several unsuccessful installations, Rail Runner Wi-Fi proved to be a tough nut to crack. What do taxpayers have to show for a ten-year, multi-million dollar investment in Rail Runner Wi-Fi? Piles of discarded cables, routers, antennas, transmitters, and miscellaneous electronic do-dads. "It upsets me. I do not want to misuse taxpayer money," said Dewey Cave who heads up the Rio Metro Regional Transit District. "I was surprised that it didn't work. But, you know, we are going to find somebody accountable." Discarded equipment | KRQEDiscarded equipment | KRQEDiscarded equipment | KRQE Shortly after the Rail Runner began operation in 2008, installation of an onboard wireless network became a priority. The goal was to give passengers a means to stay connected while riding the rails from Belen to Santa Fe. New Mexico's Department of Transportation paid contractors $2,800,000 to make passenger Wi-Fi on the Rail Runner a reality. However, by 2013, the state-of-the-art wireless system only worked intermittently and then, not at all. Today, Rio Metro officials admit the value of the Wi-Fi equipment installed on the Rail Runner is zero. "The company went out of business. The equipment became obsolete and nonfunctional and we could not replace or buy parts to replace any of the radios or any of the components that were associated with that project," said Rio Metro's Director of Operations Robert Gonzales. Electronic hardware worth millions was unceremoniously dumped beside the tracks and, just like that, Rail Runner Wi-Fi was back to square one.In 2020 Rio Metro contracted with a new company to install another state-of-the-art wireless system that included, once again, 40-foot radio towers, routers, servers, antennas, and rail car modifications. In October 2022, the $5,300,000 Wi-Fi project was turned on. Eighteen months later it was turned off and dismantled. "To my surprise and dismay, it didn't work," Rio Metro's Dewey Cave said. "It worked in some areas and some areas it didn't. And so we kept after them to fix it, but they never did. They never did fix it to our satisfaction," Cave said. Rio Metro discovered, that just buying expensive electronic equipment doesn't necessarily mean the gear is going to work. New Mexico's commuter railroad has its own unique challenges. "We are a hundred-mile corridor. It's undulating territory, it's curvature. We have to go through a canyon and you're going from Belen at 4,000 feet to Santa Fe at 7200 feet," Rio Metro's Operations Chief Robert Gonzales said. "We worked with Wabtec for over a year. We went out on the trains testing this thing. It was a tasking job to try and get this thing up and running correctly. We were (having) weekly meetings, daily trips, and writing reports. (The Wi-Fi) just never lived up to its standards," Gonzales said. Today, Gonzales admits the $5,300,000 passenger Wi-Fi system installed on the Rail Runner is not being used for its intended purpose and, he says, Rio Metro did not get what it paid for. The multi-million dollar wireless network on the Rail Runner was permanently dismantled earlier this year. Discarded equipment | KRQEDiscarded equipment | KRQEDiscarded equipment | KRQE "It upsets me," Dewey Cave said. "We're talking to our attorneys to see what options we have," Cave said. Add it all up and taxpayers have shelled out some $8,000,000 for nonfunctioning Wi-Fi equipment on the Rail Runner. "It was a waste. It's a pile of rubbish," Rio Metro's Robert Gonzales said. There is a positive end to this story. Thanks to new technology, the Rail Runner is now equipped with a relatively inexpensive satellite Wi-Fi system. Rio Metro officials say it's working “perfectly” with no complaints. Case closed.