Trains News Wire’s occasional roundup of noteworthy articles is back for your New Year’s Day enlightment, this time with three recent stories on commuter and passenger rail:
— The news site MinnPost looks at Amtrak’s Borealis and barriers to further service; even adding another car to the consist would require negotations.
— The Boston Globe considers potential restructuring of Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter rail service to the “regional rail” model. The Globe does not offer the “gift article” option on its website, so a subscription may be required.
— The Denver Post examines the proposed Denver-Craig “Colorado Mountain Rail” passenger service and says trains could be running within two years.
What I find interesting from the Denver Post article is that the state doesn’t expect all three round trips to run the full Denver-Craig route. Instead it looks like one will be the full route, with two Craig-Oak Creek and two Denver-Granby round trips in addition (no more than three RT’s on any part of the route). It would function something like a commuter line on the former, and I guess a year-round “Ski Train” on the latter. That sounds a little more realistic than three trains all the way.
D&RGW trains 9 & 10, Yampa Valley Mail between Denver and Craig Colo, last ran in April, 1968. Consist was RPO-Baggage combine (30 foot mail apartment) and one (1) coach.
Yampa Valley Regional Airport claims six major airlines, and dozens of direct daily flights from major cities. The airport is in Hayden, Colo, 24 miles from Steamboat Springs.
In Philadelphia, SEPTA calls its rail service Regional Rail but it does not seem exactly what MBTA wants if this is it: https://transitmatters.org/regional-rail
Here’s SEPTA’s site: https://transitmatters.org/regional-rail
Take a ride to Chestnut Hill – PA that is. Former Reading Co. Baldwin’s first steam engine ran on this line.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyxVPeD-3xg&t=92s