Denver Light Rail: Rush Hour

[@char615]

They couldn't run any four car trains until around 2011/2012 when they retimed all the street lights downtown so that a four car train could clear an intersection in time. Now, as you say of course, it's pretty common to see a fair number of four car trains during weekday peak times.

[@timosha21]

love the light rail!

[@simplexfirealarmguy.siemensfir]

Me too Timosha21

[@rwrynerson]

The Central Line opened in October 1994. It isn't very conspicuous in Downtown, except when a train is coming through.

[@Lukelr]

Sounds really nice and quiet too. The one here in Minneapolis squeaks...A LOT as it passes by.

[@timosha21]

very fun video of the light rail!!

[@driftwood2912]

What an amazing video

[@physivic]

green line in Boston screeches badly. this is the norm for us: v=-xlQLSr658M ... that one's inside the station, though. The worst is the bends on the outer B and C lines, where the velocity is higher and there are apartments all around. a building I went to a lot had this problem. made me want to grease the tracks!

[@ThatFloridaDudeJ]

I like them. My city (Orlando) shot down light rail 15 years ago which is why we lack good transit.

[@Mallyumansky]

Nice trains hope my city can get a damn light rail in they need one real bad lol

[@lpfanatic2003]

Also, yes, they can run in the winter. I've seen them run when the buses couldn't

[@Heyde1979]

those are cool looking trains

[@dsindc]

Yes, but Baltimore also has heavy rail, much of it in subway tunnels. On top of that, it has MARC, the Maryland commuter rail system. The major line is electric. The Brunswick line goes all the way to W. Virginia, and serves the Maryland and W. Va. exurbs that feed into Washington D.C. And finally, we have Amtrak regional trains (mostly electric) that serve the entire Baltimore / DC area which has a combined population of 9 million. The two cities are only 35 miles apart.

[@northlanderdude]

those trains are almost similar to those in Edmonton, Alberta Canada !

[@megadethfan06]

Baltimore, Maryland has these same trains.

[@Knightmessenger]

In 1998 during the all star game, my dad and I rode a bus that traveled in a dedicated lane in downtown Denver. But I don't remember any rail transit at all. Is the light rail new?

[@Highbury5089]

What is the name of the tram station? Is there any integration with the Bus / Train system? How many people a day use this station?

[@argentonath]

This is the I-25 & Broadway station, which is a park and ride facility (with more than 1200 parking spaces) that also serves the 0, 0L, 11, and 14 bus lines. Most light rail stations also serve as bus stations. RTD also operates a couple of commuter rail lines which meet with the light rail and Amtrak at Union Station.

[@Highbury5089]

Thanks. Checked out details and find the tracks are in a Wye at this station. See there were average of 15,000 passengers per day in 2014

[@rwrynerson]

@northlanderdude They're what the Germans would call "daughter cars" -- the design evolved from the Frankfurt 1967 cars that Edmonton, Calgary and San Diego ordered copies of in the period 1978-81 and later. Ironically, while there were US and Canadian candidates back then to be North America's Standard Light Rail Vehicle, this car became the de facto standard that other makes had to be compared with.

[@8avexp]

Interesting - no four-car trains. During peak hours in Denver, about every third train is a four-car train.

[@JeromeAHorne]

The trains in Baltimore are not the same. They may appear to be similar but are not even built by the same company.

[@lpfanatic2003]

So let me get this straight......a transit system that helps Americans get to and from work safely and efficiently is a waste of money but tax cuts for billionaires and endless wars is not? Why doesn't the Tea Party really call itself what it is, a bowel movement.

[@boderek6670]

I think it was made in 1999-2000

[@physivic]

The fight for rail in Florida is ongoing... The basic calculation used to judge feasibility of light-rail systems puts it out of reach for areas insufficiently dense. Orlando is well-populated, but over an extremely wide area, relative to modern cities. The proposals are all pretty pathetic, but that's because the economics of it don't work well in the first place. It'll happen only if PRT systems spread or if there appears a cheaper way. see the sunrail.com site.