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Officials meet to discuss Ski Train revival
If the private sector couldnt keep it going then its probably not worthwhile
Matthew, there is such a thing as pricing yourself out of the market. Instead of trying to gouge the passengers start with just trying to break even. Yes, I know. Not the US way of doing business in todays market place.
I wonder why the Resort hasn’t contacted the UP? the UP’s business cars and locomotives sit idle for most of the time in Cheyenne, WY I think, which is just a short hop away. With the right approach, UP earning money on idle equipment + the publicity, it seems to me that a deal could be worked out between the two to utilize the UP locomotives and rail cars. UP engine crews and part time attendants would be an alternative to AMTRAK and their BS
The up business car fleet is stored in Omaha, corporate HQ.
LGH
As my ability to talk from a former major railroad officer viewpoint, I’d surmise that using business cars to transport those who might become rowdy, after a day of skiing, I wonder…,
CC,
At a time, a few years past, I recall that the business (passenger) car fleet was maintained and held among the Council Bluff’s’ car inventory?
Iowa Pacific’s inability to revive the service was due to Amtrak’s blocking tactics. IIRC Iowa Pacific sued Amtrak and won but I don’t recall the settlement amount.
The demand is there - that’s obvious. So they should run this train - and it should be very successful.
The demand was there for two weekends, but will be there every weekend for three months? No one is going to do this unless they can at least break even. If you can’t why bother? It seems to have potential but does it have staying power?
Okay, Matthew, who pays for I-70 the skiers use? I-70 isn’t free you should know. Skiers would love to have alternative to the crowned I-70. I have driven on I-70 off the mountain into Denver and it rivals L.A.'s freeways as far as congestion,. Don’t tell us that the skiers should be provide3d with buses, that would be no better since the bus must use the freeway.
What has happened to the former CN/VIA Tempo equipment?
The main reason Iowa Pacific was unable to take over the Ski Train was due to the exorbitant amount of insurance premiums required by Amtrak. The Ski Train was successful for many, many years until the Anschutz era when they sold the equipment and stopped the train. The older Ski Train usually carried 600-700 passengers every weekend, and was frequently sold out. I know that a few time when I tried to take the train it was sold out. There are even more people in the Denver Metro area now, which means even more crowded roads into the mountains every weekend. Busses are not the answer, because they have to travel the same roads as all the individual motorists heading into the mountains which just adds to the congestion. Despite many proposals and talks between politicians, Colorado Dept of Transport, etc. It will be many years before a solution (if one is ever found) will come out of all of this. A train carrying up to 1000 people to one ski resort would certainly reduce some auto traffic for awhile. All skiers heading into the mountains basically have to use I-70 regardless of ski resort location, because the other alternatives either do not go far enough, are single lane roads with more and tighter curves, etc. Even Winter Park skiers have to use I-70 for the first part of the trip, since US40 which goes by the ski resort branches off of I-70 about 40 miles into the mountains. Since Amtrak wants to charge so much for insurance, perhaps it is the only company willing to restore this service, although Amtrak has so many problems hard to believe they would focus any energy or equipment on a short and seasonal train service.