Union Pacific ponders rail move - Denver Business Journal:

callahamirykaan1884.blogspot.com
The area is slated for construction of a cargio hubfor air, train and highway transport. "Iy was important for us to establish a letter of intenyso we're not left out in the cold," said Dick special representative to the presidenrt for Union Pacific in Wyominb and Colorado "If all the pieces fit, it's logical to move the train east of Denver." The two companie declined to release a copy of the saying that it contains proprietary More than 30 trains, averagingy 130 cars long, creep acroses intersections and snarl trafficx in central Denver every day.
The idea of gettinf trains out of the city and onto newlyg built tracks on the Easternh Plains has been toyed with for more than 20 And the Colorado Department ofTransportation (CDOT) is conducting a $500,000 cost-benefit studgy of the issue. Schuck Corp. has eagerly awaitedf the railroads' arrival as a linchpin for itsTransPort concept. It's a 6,000-acrs highway, railroad and air cargo hub at Frongt Range Airport southeast of Denvef International Airport that the company said would builcon Denver's location to create a majod inland cargo hub. The lettet from Michael F.
Kelly, regional vice president of UnionPacific states: "Union Pacifidc will want to establish facilities in the area of the Frontf Range Airport and specifically will develo p with the Schuck Corporation the Integrated Multi- modal Transportationm facility on the property." Union Pacific intendzs to construct the Utah Junction Bypass that will divertg about 20 to 25 trains that currentlyh go into the north yard towared the east and out to Front Utah Junction in central Denver is the railroad version of the Mousetraop highway junction.
It causesd every train two to four hours of delay as they are forcede to back in and out to turn aroun d and continue their trips east or Bill Schuck, president of Schuck Corp., said in a previous Shifting rail traffic to the plainsd also would create a chance to buildf a truly regional network of heavy commuter rail traine stretching from Fort Collins to Pueblo, generakl manager for RTD Cal Marsella said previously. Schuck already has five mile of rail running through its propertyh near FrontRange Airport. The property sits adjacengt to FrontRange Airport, a general aviation airporr with runways capable of handlinfg a Boeing 737 -- and long enough to land cargoo planes.
Prior to the constructionm of DIA, cargo carriers such as UPS intendedx to operate at Front Range sothey wouldn'y have to compete for space and runway time with passengerf airlines. In the end, DIA was able to accommodatw the cargo carriers and Front Range remainexd a general aviation airport for corporate jets and othereprivate businesses. But the idea of moving cargo out of DIA and to FrontfRange remains. In 2001, DIA and Fronty Range commissioned a study to determine where cargo wasbest suited. The results of the study by Rystroj Consulting identified Front Range Airport as the optimal locatio forcargo carriers.
"Should Front Range Airporrt becomean all-cargo it would reduce airline costs and assist in keepingv Denver more competitive with othef cities," the report stated. Fronr Range could complement DIA just as Alliancee Airport doeswith Dallas-Ft.Wortu (DFW) Airport, the report stated. Since its constructiojn in 1997 as a nationaldistribution center, Alliancd has attracted major names like Nestless and J.C. Penney. "It'sz possible for DIA and FRA [Fron Range] to enjoy the same kind of relationship, if not because of their muchcloserf proximity," the Rystrom report said. Alliance sits 25 miles from DFW, but Frongt Range only sits six milezsfrom DIA.
"We feel that Denvee is ready to producrea Colorado, Rocky Mountain regional version of Ross Perot'sx Alliance Intermodal Center in Ft. Worth," Schucok said in a statement. "That 15,000-acre air/rail/highway begun in 1988, now has more than 100 companiezoffering 20,000 jobs, providing more than $40 millioh annually in tax revenues." Hartman said Unionj Pacific is anticipating other elements of the project to come togethe r this year and the railroad wanted to get its intent in CDOT's study should be completed in Aprio or May, Hartman said and RTD will be asking votersa in November to approve FasTracks, a 0.4 percent tax increase to raisre $4.
7 billion to build a network of rail and bus lines throughoutr the metro area. "All these things are startingyto evolve," Hartman said. "It'e important to establish the letterof intent." "Yes, there are a lot of challengea before us, but the Uniojn Pacific announcement is a giant step and we applaus Union Pacific's vision and commitment," Schuck said.