Daenerys Targeryen’s preferred mode of transport may have been on the back of flying dragon, but in real life George R.R. Martin might well have handed his “Game of Thrones” heroine a train ticket.

More precisely, one for the historic Sante Fe Southern Railway, which the famed author – and Santa Fe resident – bought this week as part of a group that includes Violet Crown cinema owner Bill Banowsky and National Dance Institute of New Mexico co-founder Catherine Oppenheimer.

The railway, which dates to 1879, ran 29 kms between the New Mexico capital and the community of Lamy, though service to the latter was discontinued in 2012. In 2014 regular passenger service was also halted, though the train has continued to operate for special events, including films. In 2012, it appeared in an episode of “Breaking Bad.”

Oppenheimer told the Sante Fe New Mexican that the trio did not want to see the financially challenged railway fall into further disrepair or fade away and planned to ultimately provide “a super-fun train experience that builds in the history and culture and natural beauty of New Mexico” as well as providing an array of entertaining arts and cultural events on train excursions and at nearby stops.

“There’s something about train travel that brings you back to a time that we assume was a simpler, more community-based time, long before the internet, before air travel, even before television,” Oppenheimer added.

The purchase price was not revealed, but Oppenheimer said it would cost “in the millions” to repair the track and bridges between Santa Fe and Lamy and restore some of the roughly 20 train cars, which date to the 1920s. The newly restored line is expected to open in 2022.

New Jersey-born Martin has actively helped with projects around New Mexico since moving to the state.