DENVER — For weeks, RTD light rail riders have voiced their frustrations over slow and delayed trains. It's hit a point where some customers have called the service "unusable."
The majority of the impacts are seen on the Southeast Light Rail Corridor running alongside Interstate 25 from Lone Tree to Broadway Station. RTD has reported delays of over 45 minutes on the H, E and R lines.
The trains normally reach speeds of 55 mph, but due to recent inspections and rail improvements, RTD has limited certain light rails to 10 mph.
"We found rail burns, and so basically, looking at it through the lens of let's be preventative. Let's target those segments," said Debra Johnson, general manager and chief executive officer for RTD.
"The reason we do that is not because it's unsafe," Jensen said. "The track bed, the gage, the rails, the ties, the fasteners, everything is safe on the track itself, but the issue with it is that that little scuff mark over the course of time could develop a crack, and that crack could turn into a break."
The transit agency adopted an enhanced inspection methodology back in May.
"Those standards give us the requirements on what to do when we encounter certain defects," said Dave Jensen, assistant general manager of rail operations for RTD. "The track standard is when the rail burn gets to be three inches, then we have to issue a restriction, intake, mitigation action."
RTD officials said a new rail was installed on the southbound track between the Belleview and Orchard stations. With the new rail in place, RTD lifted the southbound 10 mph speed limit between the two stations on Thursday. The southbound trains are now allowed to travel at 55 mph again.
RTD officials acknowledged customers' frustrations but said this proactive work is in their best interest.
"It is time-consuming, but we are doing it right, and we are trying to minimize the impact to our customers," Jensen said.
