tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14162253.post7182911954360334487..comments2024-03-28T18:57:15.124-06:00Comments on Wash Park Prophet: The Latest Front Range Rail Plans Are UnderwhelmingAndrew Oh-Willekehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02537151821869153861noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14162253.post-31454977362536067572019-06-06T23:58:17.912-06:002019-06-06T23:58:17.912-06:00Acela fares from Philadelphia to NYC which is simi...Acela fares from Philadelphia to NYC which is similar to the distance from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs, cost $110-125 one way and more than cover their operating costs. This would be a faster trip, so a $150 trip from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs wouldn't be out of line and $75-$80 for Denver to Colorado Springs might be a bit low. https://www.google.com/search?ei=Ifz5XJqyL4SctgX85b-AAg&q=ny+to+philadelphia+acela+fare&oq=ny+to+philadelphia+acela+fare&gs_l=psy-ab.3..33i22i29i30l2.15029.18845..19098...0.0..0.116.1619.15j3......0....1..gws-wiz.......0i71j0i22i30j0j0i20i263j0i22i10i30.u4s8FjsvMvcandrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08172964121659914379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14162253.post-9259481864579298812019-06-06T23:52:30.923-06:002019-06-06T23:52:30.923-06:00Population density in the Fort Collins to Colorado...Population density in the Fort Collins to Colorado Springs corridor rivals that of plenty of places of decent passenger rail.<br /><br />There are lots of places in the U.S. that indeed aren't dense enough for passenger rail to make sense, and for that reason, most of the AMTRAK system should be dismantled. But, there are exceptions and this is one of them. This is also why, for example, a Colorado Springs to Pueblo component, or a Fort Collins to Cheyenne component, doesn't make economic sense.<br /><br />All of the major cities in the high density corridor, except Castle Rock, have underwhelming but minimally sufficient public transit systems, and rail would take you close to central business district to central business district, so the need for long distance "last mile" transportation wouldn't be all that great for a lot of business travelers. Uber and Lyft are also not very expensive for very short trips which a CBD train station could facilitate.<br /><br />The greater the speed, the less the price needs to be subsidized because it offers something better than the status quo. At 140-220 mph, you can charge ticket prices comparable to short haul airline flights (about $116+ one way https://www.orbitz.com/lp/flights/178254/602991/denver-to-colorado-springs) plus the cost of CBD to airport and airport to CBD (about $20+) transportation. At 80 mph, you can barely charge more than a Greyhound ticket (about $14 from Denver to Colorado Springs). At 140 mph- 220 mph, you could easily sell tickets for $75-$80 one way and still get lots of traffic. At 80 mph, you would struggle to get much traffic even at a $15 one way fare.andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08172964121659914379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14162253.post-21381451858117093462019-06-05T15:16:43.921-06:002019-06-05T15:16:43.921-06:00"I am not saying that high speed rail isn'..."I am not saying that high speed rail isn't worth considering. "<br />I would say: <b>should not even be considered</b> for Colorado.<br />The density is not there.<br />The transportation at each end is not solved. Taxis and Uber are expensive.<br />"Americans" hate trains (except when they are in Europe).<br />Prices would have to heavily subsidized and there is zero politcal will for that.Dave Barneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07355264650239868491noreply@blogger.com