To access our California Zephyr Pages click - California Zephyr Home Page ______________________________________ Denver, Colorado - Union Station Update Those folks who have traveled through Denver on the California Zephyr are familiar with the 30-60 minute maintenance stop and crew change point at Denver's Union Station. This storied Denver monument is located at the foot of 17th Street in Lower Downtown Denver (LODO), roughly 1,000 miles west of Chicago's Union Station and 1,400 miles east of San Francisco Bay Area terminal at Emeryville. It's a great place on the two day, two night journey to hop off the train, stretch your legs, get a taste of the station's history and a quick impression of historic LODO.
Union Station Today and Yesterday If you've deboarded in Denver recently you were probably a little disappointed in the conveniences provided there. You can purchase a newspaper out front, pick up some junk food or soda from the vending machines tucked back by the rest rooms, or just walk around and take photos. There's a ticket office, a ticket machine, and a baggage office. The traditional benches on which millions of rail passengers have rested over the years are still there, and the reading lights mounted above the benches still function, but it's a far cry from what Union Station once was, or what it may soon become.
The Future
The project action increased considerably in late 2008 and has continued this year. The Final EIS document was submitted to the Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) to submit to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA published a Notice of Availability of the Final EIS for public review in the Federal Register on August 15, 2008, which initiated a 45-day review period. A public hearing was held on September 10, 2008. On October 17, 2008 the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) signed the Denver Union Station Record of Decision (ROD) which confirms that construction of the proposed arrangement of transit improvements can proceed. The ROD includes the light rail, passenger rail and regional bus facilities as well as associated site improvements. According to Union Station Advocates' May 2009 News Update, construction was scheduled to proceed in early June 2009 with the excavation of the area between the new Light Rail Terminal to the northwest of the station and main Union Station building. However, construction had not yet started as of the time of publication of this newsletter. Features The best place to read about the details of this multifaceted Project is in the Final Environmental Impact Statement that may be downloaded in its entirety from the Environmental Impact Statement pages of the Denver Union Station Website. A few extracted photos are provided below to give you an idea of the scope of the Project.
Roadblock What appears to be a major roadblock to the start of construction is a Federal lawsuit filed on May 18, 2009 in Colorado Federal District Court (Judge John L. Kane, Case Number 1:2009cv01135) by the Colorado Rail Passenger's Association "ColoRail" v. the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). As reported by thedenverdailynews.com in their May 19, 2009 article entitled Station plan draws suit, "A passenger rail advocacy group filed a lawsuit yesterday to halt the estimated $478 million redevelopment of Union Station. It might seem odd that the Colorado Rail Passenger Association (ColoRail) would file a lawsuit that would halt redevelopment of Union Station — which at the heart of the redevelopment focuses on improving multi-modal transit — but the passenger rail advocates say the current plan is 'arbitrary and capricious'.” To read the list of concerns posted by ColoRail on their website, click on COLORAIL CONCERNS WITH THE CURRENT DENVER UNION STATION PLAN Stay Tuned Rail
Passenger USA will continue to follow this case and keep you up to date
on developments as they break. If you'd like to voice your opinion or
have some breaking news to share please contact
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