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Diesel trains OK'd on north corridors

RTD board backs fuel efficiency, noise amendment

Tillie Fong, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 17, 2007 at midnight

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The use of diesel commuter trains on the Northwest and North Metro corridors of FasTracks was approved unanimously Tuesday by the Regional Transportation District board.

"I strongly support the commuter rail for the Northwest corridor," said board member John Tayer.

"The technology decision should not distract our attention from achieving that goal."

However, the approval came only after Tayer proposed the "Responsible Rail Amendment" to the measures dealing with the two commuter rail lines, which the other board members endorsed.

The amendment has two provisions:

• One would require RTD to buy commuter rail vehicles that rank high in environmental features, such as fuel efficiency and low emissions.

The vehicles should also have the flexibility to accommodate future advancements, such as hybrid or clean-fuel systems.

• The other part of the amendment would require that RTD work with railroads and local communities to address the noise concerns of residents along the two FasTracks corridors, including finding all possible funding sources to cover infrastructure expenses.

"We need to reach out to the individual residents and take all the input we can," Tayer said.

Earlier, before the board took up the two measures, a number of residents spoke out both for and against the use of diesel trains on the FasTracks corridors.

Those who spoke in favor of diesel talked about the dependability of trains that are self-propelled, and the lack of unsightly overhead electrical wires. Debra Baskett, director of transportation for the city of Broomfield, said, "We can't tell you hurry up soon enough."

But some who favored electrical systems voiced concerns about noise and pollution from diesel trains.

"If the objective of FasTracks is to minimize the impact to the community, using diesel does not meet that objective," said Judy Montero, a Denver city councilwoman.