Denver Is Building SEPTA - But Better?!

Philadelphia made a name for itself by creating a dense, electrified commuter rail network with frequent stops. Now Denver's taking a crack at it.
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Classy Whale - at-least-weekly misadventures with trains and transit!

[@jordanmcgrory2171]

Oh how I love an accessible thing immediately behind an inaccessible thing.

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

If they're THAT worried about people crossing when there isn't a train with those gates (I don't consider them wheelchair-friendly either), they should be doing what LIRR stations have done and that is to include a smaller boom gate for pedestrians at level-crossing signals. But kudos to Denver for building a whole electrified commuter rail system! Those trains may have stations in nowhere right now, but then again, subway stations in Brooklyn and Queens were the same way when they were built and those stations led to urban development. So if the surrounding land is developed right with transit-oriented infrastructure, then over time this can very much change the habits of Denver commuters for a cleaner environment which is the whole objective.

[@transitcaptain]

They’ve been around for years now. I do want more development, but it doesn’t look like they’re building more now

[@rwrynerson]

@@transitcaptain The N-Line opened during the lockdown, with the VIP's wearing face masks. The other commuter rail lines opened between 2015 and 2018. In the meantime, development along the LRT lines opened between 1994 and 2006 has been going like crazy. It takes a while, and these projects planned years ago are just being completed. High interest rates are slowing filings for new projects. Another post-pandemic issue has been the operator shortage, an issue in North America and northern Europe. Feeder bus routes (those passengers on the G-Line that were mysteriously getting on where there was no suburban town), are still not up to 2018 service levels.

[@simonpugh3731]

Yeah, I definitely feel like the pandemic has hurt RTD development, since essentially no changes have happened since the N line was built with its lackluster park n ride stations. Two lines I would love to see open up is a line that went though downtown along Colfax since it could connect real locations that people go to like city park, capitol hill, and alot of residential areas. Expanding the B line so it goes to Boulder and Longmont like it was originally meant to would also be amazing since it would connect two towns which many people frequently drive to, it could connect CU boulder specifically as the largest university in the state, and it would further disincentivize car centric development.

[@williammckelvey2677]

RTD looks good on paper. There are several rail lines, that seem to go in all different directions from the city center. There's even a charming downtown loop of the light rail! If you just look at a map, or spend only a weekend here, the system seems great! But in reality, the system is really not so great. Most of the lightrail lines, for example, share one trunk for most of their length. And they run along a highway, which is deeply unpleasant. Service in the densest parts of the city is sparse. I live in Cheesman Park, the second densest neighborhood in the city. No train. Glendale and Cherry Creek are our densely populated secondary downtowns, just a couple miles from downtown Denver itself. No trains. The buses, also, are frequently late and a few have very long headways (30mins to an hour) despite serving dense population and job centers (I'm thinking of the 10, the 20, and the 32 specifically). As you said, the regional rail is kind of useless. Though there is a fair amount of infill ToD planned along many of the lines, especially around National Western. What RTD did right is the development of Union Station and the neighborhood behind it. That used to be a massive railyard, and the underground concourse is handy. The airport station is also quite well done, though it could use an enclosed headhouse for use in the winter months. Overall, I'm disappointed with RTD. They built so much, but it is mostly so useless.

[@mrvwbug4423]

Yup, and the routing of the light rail is bizarre. The R-line, the sole rail line that serves Aurora, Denver's biggest suburb and a major city in its own right trundles its way through Aurora at 10mph at street level, but ALL of the R-line stations are next to 225, on the west end of Aurora. I have seen transit oriented development in 3 spots on the light rail system. R-line at Iliff station has a cluster of new residential buildings along with a cluster of shops at the ground floor of those buildings. R and H line at Bellview station has some office buildings and shops next to the station, but has a missed opportunity being on the wrong side of I-25 to serve the tech center. And about midway down the W line there's a cluster of residential buildings and shops next to one of the stations.

[@sleepythespian1455]

@@mrvwbug4423 Correction: R and E lines if referring to their interline at Belleview. As someone who is based close to that station, I HATE THE NEW ROUTE OF THE 73!!!!!!!!! *Insert angry thespian noise*

[@k1rbsyy]

This is very true. RTD focused mostly on the suburbs while completely ignoring the densest areas of Denver around downtown and East Colfax. The Colfax Ave BRT is a step in the right direction.

[@qjtvaddict]

They got em up and running QUICKLY!!!!

[@danesmith3615]

Fun fact rtd actually intended commuter rail to be light rail lines but bnsf and up refused to share their ROWs

[@stewartdeerfield]

2006 Dec. U.P. coal train derailment in Littleton, narrowly avoided disaster. After that no more Light rail parallel to freight rail per F.R.A. Wasn't the Railroads was the Gov't.

[@arkitect156]

They might be similar but I think SEPTA is on better ground and will be for quite a while because there's established neighborhoods and things around their stations rather than a sea of parking lots. Send all the luck to Denver. I really hope they're able to pull this off

[@themusicman662]

The B line extention should be top priority for RTD but unfortunately the funding isn't there yet... Really should get that done cause trust in rtd in Denver is waining

[@trevorthefoamer220]

I feel like they should make partial funds to extend it to boulder, then once they have enough funds, they finish the extension to Longmont

[@jordanmcgrory2171]

Surely top priority is some damn infill development? They've got trains to fields...

[@insertchannelnamehere632]

@@jordanmcgrory2171 It's not RTD's job to develop land, but I see your point

[@mrvwbug4423]

@@jordanmcgrory2171 The US 36 corridor between Denver and Boulder where the B line will eventually run is already developed along its entire length, Westminster, Broomfield and Superior are already there and the corridor is an endless stretch of suburbia. The RTD rail system doesn't really go out to sparsely developed areas. The western suburbs are also NIMBYing any further extension out to Golden, the slow as fuck W line light rail trundles its way out to the southern outskirts of Golden, but that's as far west as the rail network goes. Aurora, which is Denver's biggest suburb could use like 4 light rail lines and a couple commuter lines on its own, but only gets the painfully slow R line and 1 stop on the A line. But Aurora is also the United Nations of Denver (very immigrant heavy), so has less political pull than the rich Yte people in the western suburbs who want rail but refuse to ride it.

[@qjtvaddict]

And what about ski areas

[@carbontetlabs8606]

As someone who's taken RTD for my daily commute for 9 years now: - RTD stands for "reasons to drive" - You're even more right than you realize about stations being in the middle of nowhere. You got a taste visiting the city but living here you realize just how ridiculously useless 90% of the transit system is. The G line only has riders because it's a direct pipeline connecting downtown and Olde Towne Arvada, the N in N line stands for uNreliable and the B line has a small crowd of morning and afternoon commuters who work or catch connections downtown and is a ghost town the rest of the day. Only good line is the A line and even then, to avoid driving to the airport, you either have to risk taking a bus or park downtown. - I'm laughing really hard at seeing the guy who accosted you again in Arvada, that station is a hub for many of the local homeless so I'm not surprised at all. A lot of them set up camp for the night in the plaza attached to the train station. If I'm catching the G line there after dark I wait by work til the train is 1-2 minutes away and then walk to the platform so I'm only there a minute or two. Pretty terrible luck you were here for a day and had an encounter, I can generally go a month or two between them. Absolutely trippy to see a train nerd nerding out about the trains that are literally just a few blocks from my place and that I take to and from work everyday. Love the video!

[@SpaceboyYT]

GREAT VIDEO!!! Thanks for exploring my Commuter Rail system! Maybe you can do the light rail system next!

[@ttopero]

In addition, choose a couple places into the neighborhoods where you’d like to go & analyze how accessible they are from the stations

[@queens.dee.223]

Interesting. Better to have too much rail that goes nowhere today than to have no rail and no hopes of cutting through dense sprawl to build it tomorrow.

[@todgod]

This is excellent content! Love the on-the-boots approach to analyzing different transit systems, great work!

[@edwardmiessner6502]

What a revelation that reinforced what I knew! The feasibility and usability of public transport depends on land use. Land use depends on zoning and public investments. Unfortunately zoning depends on the Karens not going all NIMBY on the planning and zoning boards whenever the boards suggest changes to permit transit oriented development.

[@FallingWhale]

The Boulder-Longmont leg and the airport connection are what got this passed in the first place. That leg would actually see a lot of use but last time they gave a date for when it would reach Longmont it was 2049. BNSF hates the idea of trains actually being used and has done everything in its power to prevent them while contractors working on the project have burned all of the funds suing eachother over whose idea stealing the money was.

[@mrvwbug4423]

Last I heard, B line past Westminster was to be diesel service, and only 3 trains a day to Boulder and won't go into service until 2040. That is apparently all BNSF will allow. Denver just needs to build their own ROW there instead of begging BNSF. They built lots of ROW for light rail to run comically slow trains on, commuter rail doesn't take up too much more space. Look at how little space SEPTA or LIRR need to run the same trains RTD is running, and LIRR consists are especially long given the HEAVY ridership (though LIRR runs 3rd rail so they can use tunnels under NYC).

[@bigcatproductions2789]

I lived in Denver for 35 years Loved it 🎉🤓👍

[@BalooUriza]

6:45: Yes, they are an ADA violation. Trimet in Oregon got sued over those things after a blind person got trapped inside the tracks when a train came.

[@mrvwbug4423]

RTD is a typical example of a transit system tacked on top of a car centric western US city, maybe better executed than some other systems, with the commuter rail side generally being good and the light rail side being a joke. IMHO the front range needs a HSR or at least a fast heavy commuter line akin to LIRR or Metro North to link up the corridor from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs with possible future expansion to Pueblo and Cheyenne (though I doubt Wyoming would EVER want any part of a major rail transit project)

[@Elvisfighta]

Great video! Really enjoyed it, I am a year late, but as somebody who uses the commuter rail often, I believe when you buy a day pass you can go literally anywhere on the rtd system for that day

[@ttopero]

One thing that gets overlooked in most cases is that ALL train service in Denver is COMMUTER-oriented. What you experienced is the heavy rail lines that serve portions of the metro north of I-70 (for all intents & purposes as A is just south of I-70 through Denver). The light rail system is also designed to get people from the burbs to employment, primarily in downtown Denver and/or the Denver Tech Center (DTC). Second rider type focus are event attendees at major venues. A very distant 3 & 4 priority are those people who want to get from suburb to suburb for work & can use the train as a component, as well as those who have no other options for getting around & meeting their basic needs (using bus options primarily with train service as available). Most other comments are very valid as well.

[@matthewmcree1992]

While it’s impressive that Denver constructed an electrified regional rail network and a LRT network, they made such poor decisions with their alignments (often to save money) combined with the lack of frequency on the LRT lines leads to far lower ridership per mile per day than should be considered acceptable for a metropolitan area with as many people as Denver. Here in Minneapolis-St. Paul, we don’t construct nearly enough rail infrastructure but the light rail lines that do exist (the Green and Blue Lines) have very high ridership per mile per day due to transit planning that make both lines very useful for going to a lot of major destinations. While our 1 existing commuter rail has terrible ridership due to lack of service (only a few trains per day in each direction and only around peak periods) and the fact that the project was forced to be scaled down from traveling all the way to St. Cloud, MN; once Metro Transit starts constructing the final portion to St. Cloud and begins a significant expansion of service, its ridership should improve greatly. Denver is a perfect test case for demonstrating that rail alignments and frequency really matter. If enough transit-oriented development is built near enough stations, ridership should dramatically improve, but RTD will need to do prioritize it.

[@jeffreyd2477]

I live on the G Line (2nd to last stop) , I do Miss my MBTA but for Denver standards it's an OK system. You see lots of areas that could be improved in both Light rail and Commuter rail when you grow up with East coast system's!!

[@georgekarnezis4311]

these little animations like at 1:53 are a really nice touch.

[@GeoTransit]

They may be similar, but you can never go wrong with the Norristown High-speed line

[@hi1dk]

honestly i have lived in the denver metro my whole life, making use of the public transit and i have never not once used the commuter rail. in my experience, the light rail lines are much more practical and useful, especially the W, which connects denver to Lakewood and golden. The busses in the city are hit and miss. they recently cut a few lines' routes, so it's a bit less expansive. They're very often late so one must plan ahead. There's also the bustang, which isn't run by RTD but rater by CDOT itself. It's a coach-bus style service. I myself have only ridden the northern line to Fort Collins, but it was a very nice experience, it wasn't too crowded, the wifi and outlet worked, and there was even an on-board bathroom. Also, Fort Collins doesn't have any rail lines, but their bussing system TransFort is completely free to my knowledge, and is relatively good from what I've heard. It covers the downtown area very well, at least. downtown fort collins is also extremely walkable, but that's also mostly due to the fact that it's a college town.

[@joshuahill6153]

Look up MAXX Rail "DC" Locomotives, these GE locomotives ran for 10 years until one of the world's fastest electrification projects finished in Auckland NZ.

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

14:03 Things ARE really far apart in Denver, even when they don't need to be. Like the light rail station at Union which used to be right next to the train station, but then they moved it several blocks away. And since all the northern rapid transit is commuter rail while the southern rapid transit is light rail, everyone going between north and south Denver needs to make that transfer

[@theflowerflora518]

I must correct you, it was never moved away, the light rail platform has always been there

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

@@theflowerflora518 It absolutely was moved and you can see for yourself using Google Earth historical imagery. In the 2010 aerial image the light rail station is located 84 metres north of the historical station building. In the 2015 aerial image it is 315 metres north of the historical station building.

[@rwrynerson]

It's now exactly 1,001 feet from Track 1 to Track 12. The LRT tracks were moved at the behest of real estate developers. RTD had little say in the matter.

[@avibarr2751]

I think Dallas has one of the best transit systems in the country. 7 different transit modes linking almost 10 different towns/cities around the metroplex, with connections to both major airports and Amtrak connections to Chicago and LA. I spent a week alone in Dallas and never took an uber or even a bus, unlike in Houston

[@leightonmoreland]

Denver's progress towards TOD is slow but its happening. There is resistance towards TOD within RTD leadership because of the perception that it leads to gentrification but market forces are determining otherwise. Unfortunately RTD has many other issues it has to deal with. Your encounter with a disturbed individual is emblematic of RTD in the post covid environment. Covid exacerbated the existing homeless problem in Denver and when many of the public spaces were closed they went to RTD trains, busses, and facilities which make it very unappealing to ride. Not seeing somebody smoke crack or fentanyl feels like a pretty low bar on your morning commute but sadly its par for the course currently in Denver

[@mrvwbug4423]

I've not seen anyone using on the trains, but I have seen someone smoking fentanyl at NIne Mile station, but most of the stations are safe.

[@sleepythespian1455]

@@mrvwbug4423 I think RTD made the Southmoor tunnel play creepy noises intentionally. I don't see homeless people camping in there during my commutes to and from school. ;)

[@leightonmoreland]

@@mrvwbug4423 I've seen many a joint lit up on RTD services but thankfully the fentanyl I've seen smoked seems to have been restricted to union station stairwells which have since been closed to the public

[@mrvwbug4423]

@@leightonmoreland I couldn't care less if someone was using cannabis on RTD

[@ttopero]

@@mrvwbug4423in reality, that would be preferable to fentanyl. However since the passenger doors are the only ventilation, any smoking or airborne toxins make occupancy of trains difficult for passengers & operators

[@ianmcleod48]

The thing about the Denver metro area is that it’s still rapidly growing, and all that land is planned to become future infill TOD. They might not be places now, but they will be in the future. One of these days Denver is going to have to find a way to connect the historical dense population centers into the rail network as well, which will be much more costly, and I hope someday the need for those services gets addressed with some subway lines or more heavy regional lines.

[@StLouis-yu9iz]

Thanks for the shoutout! ❤ great video as always :]

[@centredoorplugsthornton4112]

A big article in Railfan & Railroad said the railroads didn't want more light rail lines parallel to their freight lines. Any future rail expansion would have to be FRA compatible commuter rail.

[@sleepythespian1455]

Fun fact: The current G line is not the first to have that letter. In the 2000's, the then G line was a light rail line from Lincoln to Nine Mile, as the Aurora section of the light rail terminated there back then. Due to low ridership, the old G was discontinued, but a route from Lincoln to Peoria station via Aurora was brought back in the mid-late 2010's, being the present-day R line. Interestingly enough, when the R line started, it did go to Ridgegate Parkway station, but was cut back to Lincoln during the pandemic and hasn't gone to Ridgegate since.

[@mrvwbug4423]

The R line is also comical, it trundles its way through Aurora at street level going 10mph and causing traffic jams ... but ALL of its stations sit next to 225. They should've just routed it parallel to 225 the whole way and cut the travel time in half. I suspect the original plan was to have more stops in Aurora, but that never came to pass because the rich NIMBYs on the west end of Denver wanted the G line, but didn't want it coming into THEIR suburb e.g. Golden. Also Nine Mile station is absolutely SKETCHY, went there once to catch a train, saw a lady smoking fentanyl on the steps in broad daylight and opted to go up the road to Iliff station.

[@sleepythespian1455]

@@mrvwbug4423 And then it doesn't make up its mind on whether to go all the way to Lincoln or terminate at Florida station. When it does go to Lincoln, let's just say... It doesn't know how to STAY ON THE RAILS.

[@JZH10000]

RTD Fares are actually very simple. A day pass costs $5.50 amd a 3 hour pass costs $2.75. They do not charge per ride. A pass that includes the airport station costs more for some reason.

[@trailsnet]

This video leaves out the most important information of all. Voters approved, paid for and continue paying for a NW commuter rail line to run between Denver and Longmont including stops in Westminster, Broomfield, Louisville, Boulder and more. This line was supposed to have been done by 2016. They have completely abandoned the notion, even though taxpayers are still paying for it. Recently the state governor said, "It's time people forget about the NW commuter line and move on." The most important facts about this particular line include: A. The people along the NW commuter line corridor were the ones who voted most heavily for the RTD commuter train network. B. The citizens who live along the NW commuter rail corridor are, by far, the most heavy users of alternative transportation in all of Colorado. So whenever I hear that the commuter rail is under-utilized, I think, "Duh!!!" If you had built the NW commuter rail line first, as you should have, you would have seen that certain corridors will use the train system to its fullest extent.

[@armenborrell]

as someone who rides the media/wawa line on a daily basis this is eerie. its like if septa was in some alternate dystopian barren wasteland. philly may have its shortcomings but id take density and history over new sprawl like this any day. i feel like we take the integration of septa stations into neighborhoods for granted especially in the suburbs. i hate that almost all new non infill transit stations have to be park and ride with absurdly sized lots. side note-id love to see you do a video on the 101 or 102 trolley sometime!

[@mrvwbug4423]

For being an endless sprawl of suburbia Denver still manages to have some charm, it's actually far more diverse and multicultural than Portland and has one of the largest city park systems of any city. Even in the city it's not hard to find green space, and typically Denverites are very outdoorsy people and the west end of the metro area is right up next to the foothills. Denver honestly reminds me a lot of LA, though RTD even at this point is probably better than LA metro haha

[@SamanthamusPrimeV28050]

Denver is making their version of SEPTA. My friend Catie whom was born and raised in Philadelphia, but now is residing in 1 of the towns surrounding Philadelphia, and that town is accessible by SEPTA, has made a concept scene where Regional Bee (the Transformers Original Character that she made to represent Regional Transit District), and SeptaTron (the transformers original character that she made originally for SEPTA's mascot contest, but did not get picked for it, but now to represent Southeastern Pennsylvania transportation authority) would get into a fight over random things such as political views, and other crap like that, and the "who came up with the idea of uniting places surrounding the city and within the city first?" Argument, and what not.

[@gooseincitypark]

Hey at 1:27 there is commuter rail info down in the bus terminal, it's just kinda hidden. If you look at the far right screen it says "Train Hall", that's the commuter rail departures, second to right is light rail.

[@ramongamez]

Regarding the gates at grade crossings, we have those here in LA and they've actually provided tangible safety benefits. The main thing they provide is a way for people to get off the tracks quickly if a train is coming by letting you push the gate, while requiring the user to intentionally pull the gate open to cross the tracks, which would hopefully give them a second to check if a train is coming so they don't blindly walk onto the tracks in the path of an oncoming train. I've seen plenty of people in wheelchairs navigate them just fine, though I'm sure there's a learning curve at first. Granted the ones we use have very large handles built into them to allow someone to hook them with a cane or something which would help with that. Given the fact that everything LA Metro does is observed under a microscope by the ADA I'm 99% sure it's not any sort of ADA violation.

[@ClassyWhale]

Technically the ADA is an act, not an enforcement agency, but I get what you're saying. The gates in Denver didn't have handles, meaning you would have to have the motor skill to reach and grab the gates and pull them open, something that someone with quadriplegia or upper arm paralysis could not do. Also, some of the gates were push both ways on the G line, while this wasn't the case at the N line station I visited.

[@AssBlasster]

Lol meanwhile down south, I haven't seen one damn gate for a train/trolley station in San Diego County. Many people just jaywalk across the tracks before a train or trolley crosses Taylor St near the busy Old Town station

[@KMonRails]

1:03 You just described fare-capping. Welcome to the 21st century!

[@ImSlickDaFox]

You should do Denver light rail It's very interesting I've been on all the lines and it's very amazing

[@nolantherailfan5048]

One out of three fully electrified commuter rail lines in this country alongside Septa and the South Shore line

[@stekra3159]

This as good as S Bahn

[@mrath]

This shows exactly what is wrong with the Light Rail System in Denver. I've lived about 3/4 mile from Westminster Station for a little more than a year, and have yet to take advantage of it. It only arrives/departs once per hour. If you want to go to a ballgame at Coors Field, Ball Arena, or to the Union Station District, it would be the way to go. However, to get to the State Capital, or East Colfax, you need to transfer to bus service. I think one of these days (probably in the summer), I am going to pick a restaurant near Union Station to go to just to have an excuse to check out the light rail and "advantage" of living in an urban/suburban area.

[@Ih8kone]

What Denver really needs is a Subway network.

[@laurelcreek7]

Where are the passengers?

[@escondidofilms]

Driving

[@FrankieProkop]

I commuted to the Auraria campus on the Gold Line (G-Line) from Wheat Ridge to Union every day for 2 years, and honestly, it's... fine. (As long as you have a car. The distance that some of these stations are from actual development are... not ideal.) Also the exception for the access. The access is a problem.

[@skyrocks12]

daily N line user and can confirm it's really only crowded on the days of Rockies home games, and also early morning around 7-8 am with a bunch of students going downtown (including me)

[@newarkmuslim]

Great content, sorry you had to deal with the guy trying to bully you

[@MilesinTransit]

What has the better airport connection, Denver or Cleveland?

[@SpaceboyYT]

I’d say Cleveland because: Denver’s A Line has 30 minute frequencies during the nighttime hours and 15 minute frequencies at other times. Cleveland’s Red Line has only 15 minute frequencies. No 30 minute frequencies. As for the operating times: the A Line in Denver runs from 3 AM to 12:30 AM. The Red Line in Cleveland runs from 3:52 AM to 1:22 AM. However, a negative for Cleveland’s Red Line is that it has awkward train times. Denver’s A Line runs on the :00, :15, :30, and :45, which is easy to remember.

[@ClassyWhale]

Denver is like version 2.0

[@ttopero]

@@SpaceboyYTDeparture times on A line from Union Station only. Returning from airport is not as simple

[@johnchambers8528]

Thanks for showing this commuter rail service. I have only been to Denver twice but it was before any of the rail lines were built. I did ride their bus system on one trip and I thought it was good. As you mentioned the best part of the RTD system is having all high level platforms. That gate system to cross the tracks does look like it could be a problem for some people with disabilities. They should not have latches or at least one being a powered opening by pushing a switch. It does beat SEPTA in its frequency and having that all day pass for only ten dollars. As you mentioned a lot of the stations are not near town centers. However with large suburban development nearby it makes sense to have large parking lots or garages to try and get the auto driver to take the train instead of driving into their downtown. That set up can also work for people without cars as long as they provide feeder bus services from the stations to other traffic drivers such as malls, Hospitals, office campuses or somewhat developed suburban housing. Locally the PATCO high speed line even though it serves some built up towns works by having large parking lots but with also good NJT or other bus service to their stations for other destinations.

[@burumunwolf]

At 8:12 I listened to the announcement multiple times.... I think I was your engineer lol

[@danielfrancella5219]

It's pretty good for a US transit system.

[@insertchannelnamehere632]

You missed out on the commuter rail screens, I think the ads switch over maybe? I do know they have commuter rail information on those screens though (1:36) Also I gotta say, the commuter platforms are WAY better than the light rail platforms, as is the system in general Also I think the reason they didn't announce the lines is that the only line to run at :00, :15, :30, and :45 is the A line, so it probably seemed self-evident Also at 12:05 it's clear creek not clark creek Edit: They're literally there on the screens! Just all the way to the right

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

It's only self evident if you already know the schedule

[@ciso]

Genuine question: Why are there no underpasses on these station with two proper elevators? Is it too expensive? I just find it wierd cause thats how most stations inside of cities are built in Germany and there is tons of criticism here that we aren't spening enough money on the DB (german train operator for Regional-/Commuter- and Long-distance-rail).

[@ttopero]

Based on the amount of time that the elevators at the light rail stations are down, while it may be preferable when they work, a ramp is going to work regardless of how long it takes the elevator to be repaired. RTD (& transit agencies in the U.S. broadly) have terrible maintenance records, preferring to follow the deferred-maintenance-until-legally-required-to approach. Especially in the burbs with lots of space around the platforms, ramps are the preferred engineering solution.

[@escondidofilms]

The downside is that everything centers around downtown and because of this most trips require multiple transfers.

[@rwrynerson]

The R-Line doesn't go downtown, it runs from suburb to suburb. And is lightly-used.

[@thebeastproductions]

I assume you didn't let that "gentleman" use your phone... How did you extricate yourself from the confrontation? Glad you managed to escape safely!

[@ClassyWhale]

I just walked away lol. He was pissed but he wasn't very focussed.

[@BigBlueMan118]

There are just so many anachronisms in US rail systems right now, even if brand new ones like this in Denver get some things right compared to the established more extensive ones like NYC & Boston. From giant city centre terminals for regional trains not understanding the benefits of through-running services across a city, to low-level platforms, stacks of level crossings, a 19th century bell clanging through platforms, new rolling stock that instantly looks 40 years old, operations requiring a guard/attendant, station dwell times like they are still running mixed goods/passenger trains and unloading materials at stations it just goes on. Also the point of building a transit network is you need to use it to shape the city as much as letting the city shape what transit you build, and it looks like Denver has forgotten both of these but is still better than many LR systems that have been built in the US over the years imo.

[@ClassyWhale]

Great observation! I feel like very few systems in the US, or in the world for that matter get everything right, which makes it fun to exhibit the intricacies of each one on this channel!

[@BigBlueMan118]

@@ClassyWhale Vancouver and Montreal seem to come pretty close to getting everything right with their Metros and TOD programmes I think, and as someone originally from Sydney Australia I think Sydney & Melbourne are getting almost everything right with their new Metros/regional rail and TOD too. So those are perhaps some good models to follow. Here in your Denver example, they've got nice new electric trains and all ADA-compliant platforms etc, but they have totally dropped the ball on TOD. In NYC for example they get the TOD right but cannot build for shit, make awful decisions stuck in the 1930s and cannot get their head around creating a through-running line even though the infrastructure for it is already there and they understand the benefits because they do it for the Subway.

[@SeaBassTian]

Every city should have rail service from downtown to the airport. It's really obscene that most do not. So kudos to Denver for being on its airport game. However I do believe that the rail service between Boulder and Denver was voted for via a ballot initiative back in 2004 and as far as I know has been stalled for almost 20 years since. I do enjoy the light rail while traveling around downtown D!

[@insertchannelnamehere632]

It has been stalled, yes, but that's because BNSF made the leasing prices obscene and basically said not today. It will open as a peak-hour service at some point, but maybe not for more than a decade

[@mrvwbug4423]

@@insertchannelnamehere632 RTD needs to just tell BNSF to pound sand and build their own ROW to Boulder.

[@ttopero]

@@mrvwbug4423have you explored routes for it to take? I’m curious what you’d come up with because all the viable, continuous routes are already dedicated to freight rail and/or vehicles (highways & surface roads). While not idea for developing around a station, the existing BNSF alignment is continuous between both cities for the most part.

[@mrvwbug4423]

@@ttopero A mix of elevated track and tucking ROW next to the highway or in the median like they did with the TREX project. Prime example is the R line from Florida Ave down south, it runs on a mix of elevated track and running next to or in the median of 225 and 25. That southern section is a pretty efficient exercise in sticking ROW in tight spots, the total opposite of the northern half of the R line which snakes through Aurora with no rhyrme or reason

[@ttopero]

@@mrvwbug4423 that should’ve been done with the US36 rebuild as they did with I-25 & I-225. Bottom line is that over promised without having the lease with BNSF/UP locked up before showing all their cards. Terrible execution of a desirable plan

[@johnsmart964]

I think this is very positive on the whole, one hopes that over time people might change their travel habits. It is great to have someone else taking care of the driving, let the train take the strain.

[@yourlifeexplainedbyme.4666]

I love the thumbnail because most Americans would not be able to readily identify a train as “Oh that’s GOTTA be Southeast Pennsylvania” 😂😂

[@Zyir626]

Nooooooooooo Septa will always be better our Silverliner V’s are iconic☝🏾

[@sepa2401]

SEPTA Silverliner Vs have more powerful traction motors than the Denver RTD Silverliner Vs. Not to mention how we have so many stations close together and that we still have the iconic Silverliner IVs. SEPTA takes me to Philly in a half hour, without any need for a car.

[@Zyir626]

@@sepa2401 haha yup imagine if RTD had Silverliner IV’s tho what would they looked like

[@sepa2401]

@@Zyir626 Nothing is as cursed as the Union Pacific HHP-8.

[@Zyir626]

@@sepa2401 facts

[@jordanalexander4331]

So is Union station sort of like Suburban station?

[@vitusna]

Why are new American trains so ugly, like cant they design anything NOT silver?

[@wolfperson883]

Did you ride the winter park express?

[@ClassyWhale]

Nope, but I thought about it!

[@NATO4623]

I thought New York commuter rail is also frequent and also New York has two commuter rail

[@jetfan925]

Three if you count North Jersey.

[@transitcaptain]

We make you do your own research 😅😅😅

[@timectrl]

I have to disagree. RTD is not a sister system to SEPTA. SEPTA is a commuter train that serves a majority of the suburbs. This is most similar to a light rail, using clockface scheduling, no Express service, short stops between stations, and its own right of way.

[@stephenlaarkamp7344]

Caleb: "Denver is Building SEPTA" Me: *Vietnam flashbacks to the NHSL KOP extension, the death of the Schuylkill Valley Metro, and the chronic lack of funding to actually improve service* plz don't... In all seriousness, I like what Denver has done thus far. As Alan pointed out in his vid and you did here, the main thing holding it back seems to be the lack of TOD and traditional developments to connect. That will be a big point to get too, because I know having been there when I was younger that traffic is a big problem, especially with I-25, and it doesn't seem to have gotten much better.

[@nathanamey2067]

What the heck rtd why do you get e bell and horn on sl5

[@stephenkeever6029]

Yea Schlep-ta!?🙃

[@AshmewStudios]

To be fair, most public buildings don't have automated doors (like schools and stuff) so I don't think it is an ADA violation

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

All the schools I've ever gone to (in Ontario Canada) had automatic doors

[@themountainwanderer]

They are terrible with announcements, hate that automated computer voice. How hard is it to install boards with departure time displays?

[@parkerjon29]

Phoenix could have done this but instead they've done absolutely nothing and its terrible.

[@williamerazo3921]

Not better. There stations are in the middle of nowhere

[@ianhomerpura8937]

Alan Fisher discussed it in a recent video. But to be honest, those stations have great potential. Denver just has to built its TODs right. Ask help from the experts in Europe and Asia.

[@WBTravels]

@2:31 edit that part out and add that A line trains run every 15 minutes 24 Hours a day.

[@MisterCoachDriver]

✌🏾

[@Nerdy_dude]

11:31

[@Tolya1979]

"A substance-using adult tried to accost me..." This is why you can never be too polite in the ghetto.

[@ClassyWhale]

This was in suburban stroadsville

[@DanCohoon]

Better than SEPTA? About anything could be.

[@henryjpridejr]

I'm sorry but they should have built a light rail instead not enough people ride it to warrant a commuter rail

[@hillcitian]

The A line is by far the most used line on the system and travels at a speed in sections where light rail definitely cannot. Also, generally light rail is not very good at covering longer distances. There are hopes to expand everything, including the B Line to Longmont, in which case light rail makes absolutely no sense

[@MelvinVonMTodd]

Nice video! Really wish we had these commuter trains in the state of Delaware where they reached the lower points(Delmarva Express) 🚊.

[@hobog]

As much as Denver sprawl undermines this, regional rail >> "commuter rail"