Saturday, January 13, 2007

Governor Takes UP Train Today

According to the Denver Post's coverage of freshly inaugurated Governor Bill Ritter, the Governor is embarking on a special UP train today from Brighton to Pueblo. The Post says,
Early Saturday, Ritter and O'Brien plan to continue the inaugural festivities with a whistle-stop tour along the Front Range. ... They'll board a vintage Union-Pacific train - described as the Brown Palace Hotel on wheels - in Greeley and make stops for rallies and speeches in Brighton, Littleton, Colorado Springs and Pueblo. The day will end with a spaghetti dinner at the Pueblo Union Depot.
DRGW.net reports that the power for this trip is unknown. However,
The tentative schedule, as posted by "mojaveflyer" on Trainorders, is as follows:
  • 9:30 AM - Train arrives in Greeley
  • 10:00 - Depart Greeley
  • 10:45 - Arrive Brighton
  • 11:20 - Depart Brighton
  • 12:00 Noon - Arrive Denver (19th and Little Raven St. The train will not apparently be able to use Denver Union Station)
  • 12:35PM - Depart Denver
  • 2:35 - Arrive Colorado Springs
  • 3:05 -Depart Colorado Springs
  • 4:45 - Arrive Pueblo
  • 5:00 - 7:15 Reception and spaghetti dinner at Pueblo Union Depot
The freshman Governor will be touring the rest of the state by plane next week. There are no indications as to whether this indicates Ritter's openness toward commuter rail service along the Front Range or a rail-oriented option for the I-70 corridor, but given most liberal's favorable predisposition towards collective mass transit, it is certainly a possibility that there may be new passenger routes within the Centennial state by the end of his term.

Update: 4:12 PM - Nevermind.
Update: 9:42 PM - DRGW.net has a trip report

No comments:

Post a Comment

Colorado Railroads is a site dedicated to preserving and presenting rail transportation in the Centennial State. Join the growing fascination with railroading and the lives and industries connected by a ribbon of steel across, over and through the Continental Divide!