Colorado governor, in RTD meeting, says current date to build commuter line is “not legitimate”
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, in a rare appearance at a meeting of Denver’s Regional Transportation District, continued his recent push for construction of a commuter rail line to Boulder and Longmont, Colo., saying the current projection of completion in 2042 “is not a legitimate date for discussion.” The Denver Post reports that Polis, appearing on the online meeting, said the long delay in building a line that was part of a package approved by voters in 2004 “creates a gap in public trust that doesn’t just affect transit.” Current estimates place the cost of the line at $1.5 billion to $1.7 billion for a route estimated to serve 4,100 passengers per day, and the agency says it will be another 25 years before it can build the line under current funding constraints. New RTD general manager Debra Johnson has suggested the rail line might not be the best way to address commuter needs, leading Polis to say the agency has a legal obligation to build the line [see “Digest: Metra to add trains..” Trains News Wire, Jan. 25, 2021].
Kane County, Ill, appoints BNSF engineer to Metra board
A BNSF Railway engineer is the newest member of the board of directors for commuter railroad Metra. The Chicago Daily Herald reports the Kane County board has appointed Matt Hanson, a former county board member as well as a locomotive engineer, was unanimously appointed to the Metra board at a Tuesday meeting. Hanson’s term on the county board ended with a narrow loss to another Democrat, Ron Ford, in December, and the newspaper reports Ford questioned whether Hanson’s appointment would constitute a conflict of interest. But Hanson said his time on the county board shows he can keep his personal and professiona lives separate, and other board members felt he had valuable expertise. Kane County, west of Chicago, is the end point for three Metra lines: the Milwaukee West, Union Pacific West, and BNSF.
Ontario revives Hamilton light rail plan, will seek federal funding
Little more than a year after killing a light rail plan for the city of Hamilton, the provincial government of Ontario is preparing to pitch a new light rail proposal in a bid for federal funding. Global News reports the Hamilton project is one of five the province will submit to the Investing In Canada Infrastructure Program for transit. The proposal will seek C$1.5 billion from the federal government for a C$2.5 billion, 9-kilometer (5.6-mile) system, although provincial transit agency Metrolinx is also studying 11-kilometer (6.8-mile) and 14-kilometer (8.7-mile) routes. Ontario cancelled its C$1 billion commitment to a Hamilton light rail line in December 2019, saying the system would cost “an astonishing $5.5 billion.”
