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‘W’ light rail line opens in Denver
Go Denver a fine city
I rode this line on Saturday when they offered free rides to the public all day. I do not live near the line, so have no use for it, but being a train fan, had to ride it to see what it was like. I am not impressed. For one, to ride from the western most point the Jefferson County Government Center and return is not so simple, because west of the Denver Federal Center station it is single track so train capacity is limited, and trains to the Jefco Center is less numerous than to Federal Station.
Two, according to some people I talked with, apparently the train takes twice as long as the RTD busses that follow a similar route, so that sure would be a disincentive for many people.
Now the rest of the Fast-Traks lines continue to be under financed and is not likely to be finished anytime soon. As for the estimated cost, it is not 7.8 billion dollars, but more than twice that now. The 7.8 billion was the “low-ball” estimate that RTD quoted to get the public to vote for their “Fast Traks” scheme in the first place.
Even if they get nowhere near their projections, that’s still likely to be over a thousand cars removed from the streets at rush hour, benefiting those who want choices in transportation and those who just want to drive alike. Great news.