Problems Unresolved at Denver Union Station

The Colorado Rail Passenger Association released the following press release yesterday:

The Colorado Rail Passenger Association (ColoRail) congratulates the Denver Union Station developers and contractors on the opening of the light rail phase of the DUS transit hub.  ColoRail remains a steadfast supporter of public transit, particularly rail, and the FasTracks vision of expanded transportation services to the regional population.  We believe that the end result will showcase transit's critical role in the region's mobility.  We further believe that the transportation elements will be the finest that ever existed on this historic site.  However, while the new light rail station looks white and new, Colorail would like to point out some faults with the overall plan that could not only confuse but severely hamper future transportation options for Denver residents.  

1. The Denver Union Station lacks through track access. Modern stations have tracks that run through the station not into a dead-end. This provides efficiency and considerable cost savings for future commuter and intercity passenger rail services. The last chance for a through route could be foreclosed by the current development plan which values real estate over future transportation needs.
2. The new Denver Union Station complex lacks sufficient capacity for intercity buses. The new bus box has only two spots for intercity buses from around the state. These buses require more dwell time for passenger loading, baggage, etc.  Transit directors from around the state have raised this issue.
3. It is not clear that the train waiting room in the historic Denver Station will be open and available to passengers at all times. This includes passengers for the airport as well as baseball fans and others so they may walk through or sit while waiting. The protection of this historic public space is essential.
4. This light rail station is labeled incorrectly.  It is next to the Millennium Bridge so should be called that. It is two blocks away from Denver Union Station which has been in at its present location for over 100 years. We must call this light rail station the Millennium Bridge Station and not confuse it with the historic station.

These problems can be corrected. If not, they will severely hamper the future of Denver Union Station and the mobility of our residents and visitors. We are working to overcome them.

(Thanks to Edie Bryan, ColoRail Vice-President, for writing this.)


(Update: The city that is most concerned about getting more buses into downtown Denver is Pueblo.)

Light Rail Closures Continue for Another Weekend

I already reported that some light rail stations have been temporarily closed so that construction can be done to prepare for a new light rail station in the Union Station area. Apparently, construction has taken longer than expected so light rail is essentially not running within Denver this weekend. Replacement bus service is being provided. Light rail will run south of I-25 and Broadway.

If you take the light rail to Union Station, after Monday it won't actually be at Union Station anymore. Luckily, the free mall shuttle will also be making the move to the new station.

A Chance to Influence the Future of Rail in Colorado

There are going to be a series of workshops on the proposed state rail plan where people, mostly upper-middle class white people, are going to give input into the state rail plan. We need to make sure that people who ride buses and trains get their voices heard. We also need to know what the opponents of trains are pushing so that we can stop them.

All workshops are from 2-4 pm followed by an open house at 5-6:30pm. Call 303-592-5493 or 877-255-4861 to RSVP for any of the sessions listed below.

The Denver meeting is nowhere near any train station, not even a light rail station. However, both the 40 and the 79 buses serve the area and a light rail station. The workshop takes place on Tuesday, August 23 in the CDOT Auditorium, 4201 East Arkansas Avenue.

The meeting in Grand Junction has the best location. It is within walking distance of the train and the Greyhound bus stations, right downtown in the Mesa County Courthouse at 544 Rood Avenue on Thursday, August 23. The closest bus route is the 3 which is the bus route you transfer from if you are coming from Palisades. The 7 is a little farther away and is the bus you transfer to if you are coming from Fruita. The 5 also runs a couple of blocks away. Unfortunately, taking the bus may get you to the meeting slightly late. Luckily the bus is only a dollar. Also, unfortunately Amtrak gets into town just as the meeting is ending.

We need more than one train a day on this route.

We also need more than one train a day into La Junta. The meeting is not quite a centrally located as the one in Grand Junction and does not serve as many communities, but a community college is a good place to get public input. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 31 at the Student Center of Otero Junior College at 1802 Colorado Avenue. There is bus service within La Junta and to surrounding communities, but there is no bus map online. Bus trips are also a dollar with advance reservation service to outlying areas costing $2. Call 384-5453 for more information about bus service or to reserve a trip from an outlying area.

Here is a complete list of all meetings:

Monday, August 15, Washington County Events Center, 551 West 2nd Street, Akron
Wednesday, August 17, Limon Community Building, 477 D Avenue, Limon
Tuesday, August 23, CDOT Headquarters, CDOT Auditorium, 4201 East Arkansas Avenue, Denver
Thursday, August 25, Mesa County Courthouse, Multipurpose Room, 544 Rood Avenue, Grand Junction
Wednesday, August 31, Otero Junior College, Student Center, 1802 Colorado Avenue, La Junta
Thursday, September 1, Alamosa County Administration Building, Commissioners' Meeting Room, 8900 Independence Way, Alamosa

Strawberry Milk and Chocolate Ho-Ho's

In Johnny Berlin, Jon Hyrns talks about life as a porter on a luxury train that runs through the American West. On of the advantages of the job is how hard it makes spending money, but that advantage creates the biggest disadvantage. The job and the life aboard the train is so all-consuming that it is impossible to accomplish anything else. "I was writing a book before I got on the train, haven't written a page."In fact, Jon ends up named after the car where he works, the Berlin car.

One of the advantages that Jon has when interacting with his customers on the train is his ability to tell a good story. In fact, Jon Hyrns managed to get a script made into a movie three years after this one appeared (Woodpecker in 2008). But that also means that Johnny Berlin is an unreliable narrator. The work itself is true. We see Jon at work several times. It is obvious that he knows what he is doing, and we do learn something about the luxury train business by watching him.

I would recommend this part. I like trains and stories of people working.

It is his personal life that is in doubt, especially the stories that he tells when he is not on the train. For example, he talks about using the money that he has saved to go to Phnom Penh, the capitol of Cambodia. But the airplane ticket that he buys goes to Bagkok, and he does not seem to know where Phnom Penh is or how to get there.

You can watch the entire movie on Hulu as Johnny Berlin, Part 1. The listing says that it is a clip, but the entire thing is there. (Johnny Berlin, Part 2 is a different movie.)

The movie was produced by Michael Stipe which makes it the second movie with his involvement that I have covered so far. I guess he likes slow, meditative movies about trains.

Light Rail Trains are Skipping Some Stops in Downtown Denver

Right now RTD is preparing to open the new light rail station in the Union Station complex. As a result many light rail trains will not stop at all stations downtown. If you are going to be traveling to the Auraria West Campus, INVESCO Field at Mile High, Pepsi Center/Elitch Gardens or Union Station stops before August 15, be prepared to take a bus from the 10th and Osage station or to walk from the California Street or Colfax at Auraria stops. The shuttle bus will not stop at the Auraria West Campus stop.

There will be no light rail service to the Colfax at Auraria and the Theater District/Convention Center stops this weekend. A shuttle bus will replace service. On Saturday, August 13 and Sunday, August 14, there will be no light rail service north of the I-25 and Broadway Station. It is my understanding that there will be buses covering these stops also.

After the work is finished, the Union Station light rail stop will have moved and the free 16th Street mall shuttle will go further.

Bus and Rail in One Go

©2011 Bessemer Historical Society/
CF&I Archives

On Saturday, August 13, Steelworks: A Museum of Industry and Culture will host a celebration of the historic town of Bessemer. This town was incorporated 125 years ago in 1886 and became a part of Pueblo in 1994. It is most famous for being the home of Colorado Fuel and Iron which was a major player in the steel industry until the steel-market crash of 1982. The company was eventually acquired by Oregon Steel Mills (1990's?) which was itself purchased by Evraz, a Russian company, in 2007. It is now called Evraz Rocky Mountain Steel.

Rocky Mountain Steel is the only place in the US that makes Deep-Head Hardened, long-wearing rails for railroads which are all made from recycled steel.

The CF&I brand name is still active as the wire mill was sold to Davis Wire which kept the brand to market  fence and nails made in Pueblo.

The Steelworks Museum has purchased many of old administrative buildings, a tunnel gatehouse, and a dispensary which you can all see for $5 on August 13. Admission will also get you into the museum and access to a craft and food market. An additional $5 will get you a bus tour of Rocky Mountain Steel.

So you can take a bus to see people making rails for trains.

Denver's Temporary Train Station

Update: It is not longer possible to walk from Union Station to the temporary Amtrak station along Wewatta as this area is currently under construction. Currently, to get to the temp station you need to walk along Wynkoop to 22nd Street, walk to the top of the bridge to Wewatta and then walk down the hill to the station. You can still walk to the new light rail station.

Of Interest: Baseball and sports bars, skatepark, downtown Denver, RINO Arts District
Restrooms: Yes, and they are clean.
Tourist Information: None
Grocery Store: No. There are convenience stores within walking distance, but there is no easy way to tell you how to get there are back.
Computer Access: None. No wifi in station, and no wifi anywhere with directions that are easy to describe.
ATM: Yes
Seating: Lots indoors, none outdoors. You cannot wait on or near the train platform.
Accessible?: Sort of. Everything is wheelchair accessible, but there is a lot of back and forth which can be difficult if your mobility is limited. Also, there does not seem to be an accommodation for the blind.
Baggage Storage: Free for people taking the train. Available all day from 6am till early evening. Pick up forty-five minutes before the train leaves which is when they start to board. No lockers.
Hotels: Near the 16th Street Mall.

Other transit: The BV, BX, S, L and 120x buses drop off people here on their way into downtown Denver. They also stop here on their way north in the morning along with the 58x, the 72x, and the 55x. The 8 and 38 stop at the top of the bridge. The Union Station light rail stop is changing places soon, so it is hard to tell how far the walk there will be. I estimate twenty minutes until some of the construction clears out. Buses 6 and 52 would be five minutes away if the area were more walkable. As it is, you have to circle an apartment building. If you do not have a good sense of direction, bring a google map of the area.

You notice that I mention that directions are a problem in more than one place. That is because you are on the other side of the tracks from downtown and the other side of 20th Street from the sidewalk with no direct access to either. If you have some time waiting for the evening train, the bars around Coors Field are your best bet. Most of them serve food, some of it pretty good. On the big street in front of the station, cross the street, then head uphill. Pay attention and use the walk light because people drive pretty fast on this road. At the top of the bridge, turn right. You should be going downhill on 22nd Street. Coors Field, Denver's professional baseball field, should be visible the entire way. Once you get to Blake Street, you can turn right to head downtown or left to head towards RINO Art District. The closest restaurants that are likely to actually be restaurants are the Breckenridge Brewery - Denver, which is just left of 22nd Street on Blake, and Buenos Aires Pizzeria which is further along 22nd Street. Generally, if you are in the ballpark area, you are most likely to get decent food at a brew pub, somewhat likely at a sports bar, and least likely at a place that is just a bar.

If walk past Blake and turn left on Market, you eventually get to RINO art district. Notice that Market becomes Walnut. I still need to walk this to see how long it takes to get to a decent number of studios.

Do not walk over the highway on 22nd Street. Nothing is within comfortable walking distance.

I mentioned that you could get to the 6 and 52 in five minutes if the area was more walkable. The same is true of everything to the northwest of the temp station. To get to get to the area behind the station, you need to walk around The Metro, the apartment building behind the station. From the station walk down 21st Street, turn left on Delgany, turn left on 29the Avenue, then left on Division Street. You are now on 20th Street, less than two blocks from when you started.

You need to cross the street to get to a continuous sidewalk. If you walk under Wewatta, you end up next to the ballpark. This is a longer walk than if you walk to 22nd Street and then over to 20th, so don't bother. If you walk away from downtown you come to this:

Denver's downtown skatepark. There is also a concrete path along the river nearby.

Overall, I am happy with the new station, but I will be happier when Amtrak is back in Union Station in 2014.