Just some quick eyewitness observations on the progress of the Denver commuter rail, scheduled to start next year.
I had to ride to DIA to return my rental car. You could see the East Rail Line from Pena Blvd., pretty much complete, including the catenary. There looked like there were work crews on the right of way, so it's probably less complete than it looks. The tracks and platforms are in place in Union Station, but no catenary has been strung up. There appear to be 3 tracks with high platforms, 2 with low platforms (the ones the Zephyr uses) and 2 more with high platforms on the other side. I'm not sure I'm thrilled about the canopy over the platforms, there appears to be a lot of platform area that isn't covered. On the one hand, Denver doesn't get as much rain as do the cities on the east coast, on the other hand, I have been in Denver when they've gotten a foot of snow or more. As the Zephyr left town, I noticed a lot of commuter rail cars parked in the yard. Any idea when they'll start testing them?
I had to ride to DIA to return my rental car. You could see the East Rail Line from Pena Blvd., pretty much complete, including the catenary. There looked like there were work crews on the right of way, so it's probably less complete than it looks. The tracks and platforms are in place in Union Station, but no catenary has been strung up. There appear to be 3 tracks with high platforms, 2 with low platforms (the ones the Zephyr uses) and 2 more with high platforms on the other side. I'm not sure I'm thrilled about the canopy over the platforms, there appears to be a lot of platform area that isn't covered. On the one hand, Denver doesn't get as much rain as do the cities on the east coast, on the other hand, I have been in Denver when they've gotten a foot of snow or more. As the Zephyr left town, I noticed a lot of commuter rail cars parked in the yard. Any idea when they'll start testing them?
