Possibly a game changer as the 37 minute ride from downtown ( Union station ) to Denver international airport opens on schedule. Fare $9.00 with usual discounts of up to 50%, Friday April 22nd will be a free day so crowds will be heavy and suspect that there is not enough equipment to handle these crowds with normal service Monday with 15 minute headways. Hope someone can give a report.
Then of course there will be soonor or later service failure. This Denver Post video may be light on substance but gives info on how to navigate at airport. Daughter who has to fly a couple times a month says it will reduce travel time and mainly be more reliable as I-70 can plug up especially in bad weather. No more driving.
“RTD’s light-rail trains weren’t built to accommodate big pieces of luggage, and passengers have to step up and down to get on and off the train — not a happy prospect when lugging heavy bags and juggling young children.”
Overall this is a good deal. I will definitely use the train the next time I travel by air to Denver.
I have taken the DART light rail train from DFW to downtown Dallas and back on several occasions. It too lacks a dedicated space for luggage, which means you have to hold it on you lap or place it on the floor. Doing so impedes the aisle or an another seat.
It escapes me how a transit agency can open a rail line to an airport but not include luggage racks on its trains. The train from the airport in Brisbane, Australia, to center city has spaces for luggage. As do the shuttle vehicles at most of the airports in Texas!
The quote references the light-rail trains operating south of the city. The new service runing north of Denver to the airport are heavy-rail cars with highlevel platform loading and luggage racks.
A question arises if there is a maximum effort to handle the open house riders. Will the 25Kv 60 Hz CAT power be able to handle what could / will probably be the maximum draw the route ever experiences. S
Thanks for the correction. The quote was taken from the newpaper article.
Still does not change the outcome for DART’s Orange Line trains from DFW. In addition, if I remember correctly, the BART trains in San Francisco don’t have dedicated luggage racks for the trains running from the airport to center city.
Completely agree. Light-rail and rapid-transit are great for getting around town if one lives there. As a connection to an airport it is convenient with caveats. BART to San Francisco International was okay. The South Shore from South Bend International wasn’t too bad. CTA to and from O’Hare with a bag on my lap and another occupying the seat next to me was no fun. Denver seems to have figured this out by using heavy-rail commuter trains with overhead and end racks. Someone is paying attention.
LOL - nope. To reach a desired result would force them to actually HAVE a plan. Except for maybe the inauguaral trip, none of the Pols are actually ever going to ride it anyway, so why would they even bother to consider the ‘luggage-toters’ heading to DEN. [*-)]
The obvious question is " where is a line or shop diesel loco ? " Makes no sense not to base one at DEN Union Station especially there will shortly be three routes from there ?.