Are you aware that BNSF owns the tracks?
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Originally Posted by lostknight
You clearly haven't read this forum for any length of time.
The best way to summarize the reaction to this very simple fact is to basically state:
"Ah! Those evil rich people in Boulder. We can't afford it, they don't really want it anyways, and how dare they demand the the system they were promised by RTD! Why, they don't even live in Denver!"
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Are you familiar with the lengthy negotiations with BNSF? Let me provide some background just in case you've forgotten.
https://www.cpr.org/2022/03/01/rtd-f...er-rail-buses/
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RTD had initially estimated that leasing the track from Burlington Northern Sante Fe would cost $66 million. But in 2011, the track owner, BNSF Railway, told RTD it would actually cost $535 million.
There just wasn’t enough space for both RTD’s and BNSF’s trains on the existing single track. Service every 15 minutes would have required two additional tracks and other infrastructure upgrades that were even more expensive than the $535 million estimate BNSF provided for 30-minute service, according to an RTD memo from 2011.
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Has Boulder/Boulder Country gotten their money's worth?
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Taxpayers in Boulder County have paid about $270 million in FasTracks taxes since 2005, according to RTD. RTD has spent $174 million on the Flatiron Flyer express bus project and will spend another $209 million on interest payments.
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It's also a fact that RTD sponsored additional bus service over the years. Other than Denver County, Boulder County has received every penny they've put in and then some while other counties haven't fared nearly as well.