Caprock Chief Proposal Failure

[Anthony V]

Does anyone know why the old Caprock Chief proposal (DFW to DEN train via Amarillo) from the early 2000's never gained traction? What were some problems holding it back from advancing beyond the drawing board? What would need to be done to overcome some of these problems to make it more likely for the train to eventually see the light of day?

 

[Eric S]

Well, for one, the same problem that keeps all long distance train proposals from going anywhere - money. And to get significant funding, a proposal is going to need someone or some entity to champion the cause and line up political support. Unless a proposal somehow attracts major federal funds, it's going to need state (or perhaps local, in some situations) funds - and the more states involved, the trickier that is going to be.

Now, the Caprock proposal had the added challenge of needing to operate on the congested Joint Line south of Denver. So even if we entered a new era where long distance train service was being expanded, with new trains being added, I don't know that this proposal would be near the top of the list.

 

[Palmetto]

The Joint Line hosted lots of coal traffic. Is it still congested because UP and BNSF are nos using it more for other types of trains?

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

The route is double tracked more or less. However it's two different lines that are run in a single direction. At some points these lines come together, at other points there owned by two different railroads.

It going to be a mess. Need strong management, and strong political backing.

Of course the north bound train station is miles away from the south bound train station. That will be needing a fix.

 

[Anthony V]

Colorado has been for many years discussing and studying a commuter rail line south from Denver to Pueblo that would follow the route of the Caprock Chief. Obviously, this service would be much more frequent than the Caprock Chief would have been, which would mean that it would require even more capacity increases than that would've been needed for the Caprock Chief. If this commuter rail line is ever built, a lot of the upgrades to the Front Range and more that would've been done for the Caprock Chief would be done for the commuter rail line.