RECONSTRUCTION "STARTING" ON DENVER UNION STATION
On Tuesday, September 8th, work began on relocating a water line along Wewatta Street. This is being billed as the start of the reconstruction of Denver Union Station, though no groundbreaking ceremony is planned for the event. Readers may ask themselves why elected officials would pass up the opportunity to celebrate this moment in front of cameras. Here are some possible answers. ColoRail member Edie Bryan has been attending the board meetings of Denver Union Station Project Authority (DUSPA), the shadowy agency that has taken over the station from the Regional Transportation District (RTD). As her report of a recent meeting shows, elected officials who know about the dangers inherent in archival videotape may be afraid of being caught celebrating before funding for any further work is assured. It is quite possible that ground will be dug up and then work will have to stop. That's the sort of contrast that television news would love to show.
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ARCHITECT CRITICIZES DIRECTION OF DUS RE-DESIGN
Stuart Ohlsson, AIA, who has shared his critique of the DUS re-design with ColoRail members has written a good summary of the issues. It was published in "Your Hub" - the Denver Post's neighborhood supplement. If it did not reach you, here's a link to the article, headlined "A great vision in need of new glasses." http://denver.yourhub.com/Denver/Stories/Voices/Letters/Story~651683.aspx "
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GOLD LINE MOVES AHEAD
One of the four FasTracks commuter rail line projects has reached the Final Environmental Impact Study stage (FEIS) and awaits Federal Transit Administration approval. You can join the mailing list for information on the Gold Line (North Denver - Adams County - Arvada - Wheat Ridge along the former C&S line now owned by BNSF). Contact: RTD Gold Line Team [ info@rtdgoldline.com ] to receive regular bulletins on that line's progress.
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NEW LIGHT RAIL VEHICLES JOINING RTD FLEET
Riders on the Southwest Lines have been watching on-going expansion of the Elati Division light rail operations and maintenance facility. Now the process of filling it with cars needed for the FasTracks expansion is underway. New cars will be needed for: the West Line -- now under construction, the Southwest Line extension to Highlands Ranch, and the Southeast Line extension into Lone Tree. http://www.metro-magazine.com/News/Story/2009/08/Denver-RTD-receives-first-FasTracks-LRT.aspx RTD already has enough LRVs on hand to stretch some peak hour and special service sports trains to four car consists. Work continues on the infrastructure needed to handle them (longer platforms still needed at some stations, substation upgrades, and the traffic engineering measures to get them through Downtown Denver successfully).
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BIG PICTURE: STRANDED AT THE STATION
Transportation for America offers a national look at issues. You can learn more at their website: http://t4america.org/resources/stranded/
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HIGHWAYMEN OBJECT TO USE OF FUNDS FOR RAIL
Readers will be amused by this story from our sister Western state. When the State of Oregon announced plans to purchase the popular Talgo tilting trains for their Willamette Valley segment of the Cascades Corridor, highway contractors who already had received millions in stimulus funding were outraged that they did not get ALL of the money. Get this: http://djcoregon.com/news/2009/09/02/contractors-want-roads-not-trains/ [Editor's note: it's important to follow what happens in Oregon and Washington, because in ten to twenty years, Colorado will be going through the same arguments.]
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COAST STARLIGHT GETS ORGANIZED
Another Amtrak long-distance route can boast of having its own marketing support coalition. Visit: http://www.coaststarlight.net to learn more about it.
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PIONEER STUDY NOT YET RELEASED
As of the Labor Day weekend, supporters of the 'Pioneer' restoration are awaiting the outcome of Amtrak's study of the original service and the possible future link between this region and the Pacific Northwest. Because this study will likely be only the first step, there still is time for communities on the various alternative lines to speak up. On the afternoon of Wednesday, September 16th, the Fort Collins Transportation Advisory Board will hear a presentation on the Pioneer project. Included will be a discussion of the potential of serving Fort Collins and/or Loveland by operating the new train over the former C&S line between Cheyenne and Denver. This would take advantage of planned FasTracks improvements south from Longmont, and proposed North Front Range Study improvements north of Longmont. The Pioneer will also be the topic of a presentation at the ProRail Nebraska meeting to be held concurrenty with the North Platte Rail Fest on Saturday, September 19th. For more information about the mega-rail event, go online to www.nprailfest.com .
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Each rail project in other parts of the Midwest and West improves the potential for the last hold-out states to discover the benefits of rail transport. Did you know that Talgo builds a sleeper version for European night trains? Can you imagine how fast a 'Denver Zephyr' could cover the run from Denver to Chicago with tilting equipment to take the unimproved Colorado and Nebraska curves at speed? Then think of how fast it would travel on the planned Iowa and Illinois high-speed tracks. And you'd be taking off your shoes in private before climbing into your berth, not showing off your socks to a security guard! =======================================
Denver Union Station editorials by ColoRail members:
http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2009/03/02/editorial3.html
http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_11836699?source=rss |
