Amtrak needs service in Colorado Springs and Pueblo

[usrail21]

Why is there no Amtrak service in Colorado Springs? So to fix that how about restrict the Pioneer and route it to Colorado Springs after Denver. It should also have a next stop as Pueblo. Then it should stop at Lamar and make the same stops as Southwest Chief until Dodge City. After Dodge City it will be Great Bend, Salina, Manhattan, Topeka, Ottawa, Joplin, Springfield (Missouri), Lebanon, St. Louis, Alton, Springfield (Illinois), Lincoln, Bloomington-Normal, Joliet, then Chicago Union Station.

 

[Anderson]

Let's see...there are directional routing issues on the Front Range (i.e. two single-track alignments being operated as a double-track alignment), not to mention...where is the money going to come from for this, to say nothing of the equipment?

 

[gswager]

It has been proposed as a Texas Eagle from Dallas/Lubbock/Amarillo for many years. Plus, that Front Range line is very congested with coal trains.

 

[domefoamer]

It has been proposed as a Texas Eagle from Dallas/Lubbock/Amarillo for many years. Plus, that Front Range line is very congested with coal trains.

I'm always hearing that claim, but on my drives between Denver and the Springs, I see lots of empty track, for a half hour or more. It's no NEC, or even busy like the UP main line through South Pass. Maybe all this route needs is a few more long sidings and rescheduling more coal trains to the overnight hours?

 

[jis]

Let's see...there are directional routing issues on the Front Range (i.e. two single-track alignments being operated as a double-track alignment), not to mention...where is the money going to come from for this, to say nothing of the equipment?

And if it is just a Denver to Colorado Springs and Pueblo service we are talking about, it should rightfully be the responsibility of the Colorado DoT to take the lead on this. Then they can choose either to contract with Amtrak or someone else to run it, or run it themselves.

If in some alternate universe a Texas to Pacific Northwest service existed via Denver, then that would presumably cover that segment in question and that could be a legitimate Amtrak operation.

 

[henryj]

It has been proposed as a Texas Eagle from Dallas/Lubbock/Amarillo for many years. Plus, that Front Range line is very congested with coal trains.

I'm always hearing that claim, but on my drives between Denver and the Springs, I see lots of empty track, for a half hour or more. It's no NEC, or even busy like the UP main line through South Pass. Maybe all this route needs is a few more long sidings and rescheduling more coal trains to the overnight hours?

I believe they called that proposal the Caproc Express. The best option is to restore the Texas Zephyr, DFW, Amarillo, Trinchera Pass and up the front range. It's not too congested to handle one passenger train. And it would finally re-connect Texas with Colorado. If you want to restore the Pioneer, then it would connect with that plus the CZ at Denver. The state of Colorado needs to look at local commuter traffic Denver to Pueblo as that's not Amtrak territory.

 

[USrail21]

Not the cz. It would get high speed rail so no male it the way I want it.

 

[PaulM]

It has been proposed as a Texas Eagle from Dallas/Lubbock/Amarillo for many years. Plus, that Front Range line is very congested with coal trains.

I'm always hearing that claim, but on my drives between Denver and the Springs, I see lots of empty track, for a half hour or more. It's no NEC, or even busy like the UP main line through South Pass. Maybe all this route needs is a few more long sidings and rescheduling more coal trains to the overnight hours?

I was about to say the same thing. I drive from Santa Fe - Denver a couple of times a year. The Pueblo - Denver section of track doesn't seem quite as deserted as Lamy-Trinidad, but pretty close.

 

[johnny.menhennet]

Why is there no Amtrak service in Colorado Springs? So to fix that how about restrict the Pioneer and route it to Colorado Springs after Denver. It should also have a next stop as Pueblo. Then it should stop at Lamar and make the same stops as Southwest Chief until Dodge City. After Dodge City it will be Great Bend, Salina, Manhattan, Topeka, Ottawa, Joplin, Springfield (Missouri), Lebanon, St. Louis, Alton, Springfield (Illinois), Lincoln, Bloomington-Normal, Joliet, then Chicago Union Station.

Mmmm... Dodge - Great Bend - Topeka - Joplin - (somehow no stop in Springfield) - Lebanon

this just sounds smart to me... good thinking, and great job even spending 30 seconds on google maps to see if tracks exist there, USrail21

 

[jdcnosse]

Why not just add/ modify the SWC, at least for Pueblo. I mean, the train already goes through La Junta and Lamar, so a little detour up to pueblo wouldn't be too bad.

 

[VentureForth]

Sorry to keep bringing up USRail21's posts.

I think this was a part of the plan envisioned by Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico and the Governor of Colorado at the time the New Mexico Railrunner was envisioned. Since NM had to buy all the track up to Trinidad anyway, it was thought that the NM Railrunner could go all the way up to Denver. In the other direction, the dream was to connect to El Paso. Denver to El Paso - Maybe even add Boulder and Fort Collins in the North.

But alas, at nearly 12 hours of run time, it would be an extraoridary long "commuter" train - and only servicing 3 major population centers.

It could also potentially have the effect of putting in an express lane for drug trafficing from Mexico, but hearing how DEA has been riding the rails, this is unlikely.

So what happed to the Good Governor's dream? Colorado bailed, and the costs ran out of hand. No one figured there would be a payoff for this route. Though, quite frankly, in a rail environment where the flow moved from the West to Chicago, any connection - whether it be a NM-CO Snow Runner or Amtrak - would be welcome.

 

[zephyr17]

Sorry to keep bringing up USRail21's posts.

I think this was a part of the plan envisioned by Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico and the Governor of Colorado at the time the New Mexico Railrunner was envisioned. Since NM had to buy all the track up to Trinidad anyway, it was thought that the NM Railrunner could go all the way up to Denver. In the other direction, the dream was to connect to El Paso. Denver to El Paso - Maybe even add Boulder and Fort Collins in the North.

But alas, at nearly 12 hours of run time, it would be an extraoridary long "commuter" train - and only servicing 3 major population centers.

It could also potentially have the effect of putting in an express lane for drug trafficing from Mexico, but hearing how DEA has been riding the rails, this is unlikely.

So what happed to the Good Governor's dream? Colorado bailed, and the costs ran out of hand. No one figured there would be a payoff for this route. Though, quite frankly, in a rail environment where the flow moved from the West to Chicago, any connection - whether it be a NM-CO Snow Runner or Amtrak - would be welcome.

And New Mexico is trying to back out of the deal for the track from Lamy north as well. They certainly aren't writing the check.