RTD calls railroad?s property too pricey

John C. Ensslin

Thursday, January 10, 2008

RTD officials said Wednesday they've broken off negotiations with the Union Pacific Railroad on a proposed rail maintenance facility and parts of a Smith Road railroad alignment after concluding the asking price exceeded the FasTracks budget.

The decision will require some re-adjustment to the route of RTD's planned line to Denver International Airport. But it should not significantly alter any of the other planned FasTracks routes, RTD officials said.

"The basic corridors will remain the same," said RTD spokesman Scott Reed. "This has more to do with the maintenance and internal operation functions than with the route of passenger lines."

RTD will continue to negotiate with Union Pacific on other substantial pieces of property, according to RTD General Manager Cal Marsella, who characterized the on-going negotiations as "positive and constructive."

"However, we have no choice but to re-examine other alternatives for some segments to arrive at the most cost-effective program," Marsella said.

RTD officials would not disclose how much money Union Pacific wanted for the properties, which include UP's 36th Street rail yard plus the western portions of the Smith Road alignment along RTD's East Corridor.

That will force RTD to go back and re-examine some alternative routes for service to DIA, said RTD spokeswoman Pauletta Tonilas.

"I think the big picture is we'll continue to work with Union Pacific," she said. "We had been working on a package deal with them. The package is cost-prohibitive, but that doesn't mean the whole package is off the table."

FasTracks is a voter-approved 12-year-program that will expand rail and bus service through the eight-county district, including six new commuter rail- and light-rail corridors and extensions to three existing corridors.

ensslinj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5291

• January 10, 2008

  7:47 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  jacka writes:

  Maybe with heavey desiel for the gold and NW lines they can give Arvada or Boulder the maintenance shed and tout is as economic development!

• January 10, 2008

  12:19 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  SteveFesch writes:

  And how is RTD supposed to purchse the rest of the property on the West Corridor "At fare market value" when they are billions over budget already? Where does that leave the rest of the property owners in their way over the next 10 years?

• January 10, 2008

  1:27 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Scott writes:

  Let me get this straight. Rancid Transit District will utilize eminent domain on small property owners to steal their land from them. However, when it comes to dealing with big corporations, Union Pacific, Rancid Transit District avoids exercising eminent domain. Now I'm sure that this has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with the fact that UP has the money to buy politicians and can hire all kinds of lawyers to sue the bejeesus out RTD when the small business owner can only bend over and take it.

  Scott

• January 11, 2008

  6:14 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  warrengfunk7 writes:

  Scott,
  Your comments are offensive to me. Name calling is immature. Your claims are unfounded and false. Scott, railroad companies have full protection from eminent domain. It's LAW... RTD can not use eminent domain to acquire property from Union Pacific.

  It is Union Pacific which is misusing that law in an attempt to profit. Union Pacific is trying to take away taxpayer monies and strip FasTracks down to it's bare bones. Union Pacific doesn't care about the citizens of the Denver area, their tax money, or their transit system they need for their future.

  Stop trying to give RTD the bad reputation, when they continue to work hard to find creative ways to maximize the taxpayer's investment in this critical infrastructure. I salute RTD in their ongoing effort and boo Union Pacific Railroad in their attempted thievery of taxpayer funds and services.

  On another note, the maintenance facility will have to be along an electrified segment of track in order to allow access of both electrified and diesel commuter trains. This rules out maintenance facility locations along the North and Northwest lines. However, there is plenty of open land at the end of the Gold Line between the end-of-line proposed station and Coors Brewery. There is also open land in the DIA area of the East line. A maintenance facility for less monies than Union Pacific's asking price can be found.

• January 11, 2008

  2:15 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  SteveFesch writes:

  RTD doesn't need anyone to give them a bad reputation. They are earning that on their own. As a land owner under their grasp of eminent domain I have a dozen or more ideas that could help with their process of eminent domain so they could lay down there 110 miles of track with less resistance, cost to the tax payer.

  They are going about it wrong. Their problem is they haven't used eminent domain in 7 years from what I've been told by members of RTDs board of directors.

  We are all humans and make mistakes but mistakes can be corrected. There is a better way of doing business and it starts with being honest and getting information out to land owners well in advance instead of blind siding them before the holidays to start.

  There are 180 more letters going out to families like mine that had no idea that they were in the way of light rail.

  My parcel isn't even in the direct path of the light rail or the station. In fact the light rail station in my area isn't even agreed upon by the City of Denver and RTD yet RTD is grabbing land for the area?

  my story can be read here. www.eminentdomainsucks.com

  I want to work with RTD and the city of Denver to SAVE the taxpayers money. As it sits now they will waste it by taking my land. There is land available across the street from mine that the tax payers of Denver already own. RTD agrees with me that is reasonable to use Denver's land but RTD says that Denver and the Urban Drainage won't sit down with us to discuss it because I have a lawyer. It makes no sense as all parties involved have lawyers. They have millions of dollars to spend on lawyers. There is no reason we can't all sit down to make this a win win for all parties including the people of the front range who will use the light rail.

  Steve Fesch