Just when RTD riders most need guidance to navigate disrupted and shifting train schedules, RTD’s “real-time information” for south metro rail lines “may not be available,” according to agency service alert postings this week.
The erratic communication coincides with safety delays — trains crawling at 10 miles per hour and no end in sight — on top of scheduled summer service cuts for maintenance. RTD managers in May launched an “enhanced inspections” program that requires weekly scanning of all 120 miles of track. Inspectors have found unspecified instances of “railhead burn” corrosion that, if not fixed, can lead to tracks breaking.
The inspections began weeks before RTD officials implemented the service cuts – trains that ran every 15 minutes on key routes now run once an hour – to accommodate a $152 million maintenance catch-up blitz downtown and continued work that started a year ago to repair walls along the Interstate 25 corridor.
RTD track problems and abrupt speed restrictions “is absolutely concerning” and regulators at the Public Utilities Commission have asked RTD to provide details of their inspections, Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies spokeswoman Katie O’Donnell said. Last year, PUC officials issued a corrective action plan requiring RTD to conduct a comprehensive review after inspectors in 2022 found corroding track and crumbling concrete downtown.
“Public safety is our top priority but we also recognize the tremendous impact to commuters that the slow order has caused,” O’Donnell said. “The PUC’s role is to ensure that RTD runs a safe system and understanding the state of their infrastructure is fundamental to that.”
State regulators planned to meet next week to consider “next steps.”
RTD’s designated spokespersons weren’t available this past week to discuss disruptions. An agency statement on Thursday confirmed “intermittent” train information system outages for the south metro E, H, and R lines caused by sensors thrown off due to trains switching tracks during maintenance, skewing predicted locations. “Our Custom Development Team has identified a fix,” the statement said. “The fix is currently being tested and is expected to deploy in the very near future.”
The agency’s elected directors pressed managers for explanations at a committee meeting Wednesday night. Director Paul Lewis called for a shut-down of south metro rail to speed track repairs with temporary buses carrying riders to and from the Broadway Station south of downtown along I-25.
“When we keep changing the goalposts, that has to be hyper-frustrating,” Lewis said. “Trains running at 10 miles per hour is not considered transportation. My wheelchair operates at 7 mph to put that in perspective,” he said.
“I’m just pretty baffled at the staff’s lack of creativity, lack of contingency plan, and lack of respect for riders.”
Director JoyAnn Ruscha said she supports the inspections and maintenance but said riders need up-to-date schedules. “If we know something now, we say something now. These are people’s lives,” Ruscha said. “The public will be so much more forgiving if we are transparent.”
This week, RTD’s reduced-frequency trains crawled at 10 mph along key routes where they once ran as fast as 55 mph, adhering to the “speed restrictions” ordered after inspectors found problems. “Slowdown zones” have been established along the tracks between the Colorado and Southmoor stations along the E and H lines along I-25 and also along tracks south of Belleview Avenue.
RTD officials created a speed restrictions website Tuesday night and referred news organizations with questions about problems to the site. Track inspectors found “minor issues” and “cosmetic defects,” including “instances” of railhead burn, the website said. It gives no estimate for how long the slow-down zones will be necessary. That will depend on how soon maintenance work gets done which, in turn, depends on workers being available.
On Wednesday, an hour-long wait for a train that never arrived at the south suburban Lincoln Station left rider Chris Fawver, 42, in a lurch, unable to reach his home in central Denver after work. He doesn’t own a car or have access to a car this summer. He gazed downward at his phone screen using RTD’s app and dialed a customer service phone number but found the information he received was erroneous. He gave up and shelled out for a shared Uber ride downtown.
“Honestly, I wouldn’t mind the delays if they communicated them more effectively, but Next Ride is next to useless, and customer service is about the same, so people are waiting for a train when they have no idea when or if it will arrive,” Fawver said. “It’s the 21st century. Isn’t there a way to communicate arrival and departure times for mass transit regardless of delays? Or do they not want to admit what the real delay times are? Their customer service was more dismissive than helpful,” Fawver said.
“It definitely makes me want to consider more-reliable mobility options.”
RTD officials told directors at their committee meeting that stepped-up inspections and maintenance is necessary to ensure a proper “state of repair” along tracks.
Train information systems should be restored, said Dave Jensen, RTD’s assistant general manager for rail operations.
Slow-down zones with trains going 10 mph are necessary because RTD officials have committed to following American Public Transportation Standards that recommend speed restrictions when inspectors find railhead burn, Jensen said.
“We are looking in detail at every component and every element of the track area,” he told directors. Inspections in the past found “maybe 100 data points,” he said. “We are now documenting thousands of data points” and these will help RTD managers in “knowing what the condition of our infrastructure is.”
Buses can’t be substituted because “we do not have available bus drivers to be able to add significant supplemental service,” said Fred Worthen, RTD’s assistant general manager for bus operations. “There are important repairs that need to be done. We do hope to have a good portion of these repairs done and be back on track by September.”
Safety is certain with the slower rides along tracks with railhead burn bumps, Jensen said.
“Right now, everything is structurally fine. But absent any intervention, those spots on the rail will turn into cracks and those cracks will turn into breaks. ….. We are taking a proactive approach. …. Our team is developing an action plan for resolving these issues. We believe, at this point, we can resolve all of this in-house. It will take some time.”