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99-462: The railroad line was built in the early 1880s by the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad as part of its San Juan Extension from Alamosa to Durango, Colorado . The railroad has a steep (for a railroad) 4% grade approaching from the west, so additional helper locomotives were usually run (and often still are) on trains from Chama, New Mexico to Cumbres Pass. The facilities at the pass were built by

198-490: A transit-oriented development . The Boca Raton station is located next to the Boca Raton Public Library . The station is 22,000 sq ft (2,000 m ) on a 1.8-acre site across from Mizner Park. The station has access to a 455-space parking garage that will also provide dedicated free parking for library patrons. The West Palm Beach station is located between Datura and Evernia Streets and to

297-486: A venture capital proposal to build a privately funded high-speed rail passenger train from Apple Valley, California , to Las Vegas , Nevada, from hotel developer Marnell Corrao Associates . When Fortress subsequently entered into its partnership with Virgin Group in 2019, it was announced that the newly formed consortium will build and operate XpressWest when it opens. In September 2020, Fortress Investment Group renamed

396-553: A $ 1.6 billion Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) loan, which was administered by the Federal Railroad Administration , and in late 2014, the company applied for a $ 1.75 billion private activity bond allocation, with proceeds from the bond sale substantially reducing or replacing entirely the amount of the RRIF loan request. The company received a Finding of No Significant Impact from

495-521: A 27-mile (43 km) commuter rail route starting at Aventura station in the south and running as far north as Deerfield Beach. Service could start in 2028. It has also been proposed that the commuter service could go through Palm Beach County if a deal is reached with the county, stopping at destinations such as Delray Beach and going as far north as Jupiter , the latter of which has no passenger rail service. On September 18, 2018, Fortress Investment Group announced that it would acquire XpressWest,

594-513: A Supreme Court hearing were financed with over $ 200,000 in private donations in addition to over $ 4 million in County funds. In April 2019, the company secured $ 1.75 billion in funding for the Orlando extension and said construction would begin right away. In November 2018, it was announced that Virgin Group would become a minority investor in the railroad and would provide rights to rebrand

693-532: A complete list of all the railroad's named trains. The Union Pacific acquired all D&RG owned assets at the time of the merger. The UP operates the former D&RGW main line as part of its Central Corridor . However, several branch lines and other assets have been sold, abandoned or re-purposed. These include several presently operating heritage railways that trace their origins to the Denver & Rio Grande Western. Active rail assets tracing their heritage to

792-607: A defensive move, this may have been enough to discourage the A&;C from proceeding to construction. Originally hauling mainly agricultural products, the Farmington line was converted to narrow gauge in 1923, and later delivered pipe and other construction materials to the local oil and natural gas industry into the 1960s. Portions of the Alamosa–Durango line survive to this day. The Walsenburg–Alamosa–Antonito line survives as

891-563: A direct transcontinental link to the west. The D&RGW slipped into bankruptcy again in 1935. Emerging in 1947, it merged with the D&;SL on March   3, 1947, gaining control of the "Moffat Road" through the Moffat Tunnel and a branch line from Bond to Craig, Colorado . Finally free from financial problems, the D&RGW now possessed a direct route from Denver to Salt Lake City (the detour south through Pueblo and Tennessee Pass

990-485: A future SunRail service to Epic Universe, the Orange County Convention Center , and Disney Springs. On June 27, 2022, Disney announced that Brightline would not run on their Walt Disney World park property; however Brightline said it would still build a station near Disney World to get riders as close as possible. On March 4, 2024, Brightline officially announced that an infill station on

1089-777: A line was laid north through Delta , reaching Grand Junction in March, 1883. The line continued building west until reaching the D&RGW close to present day Green River which completed a narrow-gauge transcontinental link with the Rio Grande Western Railway to Salt Lake City, Utah . The line from Pueblo to Leadville was upgraded in 1887 to three rails to accommodate both narrow-gauge and standard-gauge operation. Narrow-gauge branch lines were constructed to Chama, New Mexico , Durango , Silverton , Crested Butte , Lake City , Ouray and Somerset , Colorado. The route over Tennessee Pass had steep grades, and it

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1188-872: A motto of Through the Rockies, not around them and later Main line through the Rockies , both referring to the Rocky Mountains . The D&RGW operated the highest mainline rail line in the United States , over the 10,240 feet (3,120 m) Tennessee Pass in Colorado, and the famed routes through the Moffat Tunnel and the Royal Gorge . At its height, in 1889, the D&RGW had the largest narrow-gauge railroad network in North America with 1,861 miles (2,995 km) of track interconnecting

1287-638: A municipality. On December 24, 2018, after four years of legal battles, a Federal District Judge threw out a suit by Indian River County that claimed the U.S. Department of Transportation improperly approved the bond allocation, clearing the way for construction of the new rail corridor through the Treasure Coast and Space Coast. On October 5, 2020, the US Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal of that decision, ending Indian River County's efforts to stymie development. The county's efforts at

1386-540: A narrow-gauge line from Ogden, Utah via Soldier Summit, Utah to Grand Junction, Colorado . The railroad was reorganized as the Rio Grande Western Railway in 1889, as part of a finance plan to upgrade the line from narrow gauge to standard gauge, and built several branch lines in Utah to reach lucrative coal fields. It was the railway which Gustaf Nordenskiöld employed to haul boxcars of relics from

1485-463: A patch applied over the locomotive's number and the number boards replaced. This method allows the locomotives to be numbered into the Union Pacific's roster but is cheaper than fully repainting the engine into UP Armour Yellow. In 2006, Union Pacific unveiled UP 1989 , an EMD SD70ACe painted in a stylized version of the D&RGW color scheme. This unit is one of several SD70ACe locomotives

1584-619: A retail concourse. The station connects Brightline with the Metrorail, Metromover, Metrobus, City of Miami trolley, and Tri-Rail systems. This increases connections to activities and tourist destinations, including the Performing Arts Center, Bayside Market and Bayfront Park. Service to Miami began on May 19, 2018. Tri-Rail service commenced in January 2024. The Aventura station is located on West Dixie Highway west of

1683-433: A significant sector of the rail/air travel sector is usually given as around four hours with rail becoming dominant over air travel at travel times below three hours. As of 2024, trains travel at an overall average speed of 69 miles per hour (111 km/h), making the journey in about 3.5 hours. To meet the target 3-hour schedule, trains would have to operate with an overall average speed of 80 mph (130 km/h), which

1782-564: A standard-gauge line, perhaps in anticipation of possible standard gauging of the entire line, south from Durango to Farmington, New Mexico . Part of the reason for this isolated change of gauge was that the Southern Pacific contemplated extending to access coal fields in the northern San Juan basin , had surveyors working there, and had incorporated a subsidiary, the Arizona & Colorado Railroad Company , for this purpose. As

1881-474: A station in Disney Springs as a part of its Tampa extension. The high-speed rail corridor between Disney Springs and Orlando International Airport was projected to cost $ 1 billion and travel alongside Florida State Road 417 . As of 2021 the project had yet to secure needed funding, but passenger service was planned to start by 2026. Then, on May 5, 2022, Universal Orlando offered 13 acres of land near

1980-453: Is 125 mph (200 km/h). Trains cover the 235-mile (378 km) route in 3 hours and 25 minutes, with an average speed of 69 mph (111 km/h). In 2012, All Aboard Florida, a wholly owned subsidiary of Florida East Coast Industries (FECI), announced plans to operate passenger rail service between Miami and Orlando . The construction was projected at the time to be $ 1.5 billion. In March 2013, All Aboard Florida applied for

2079-435: Is a weather station near the summit of Monarch Pass. Cumbres Pass has a subarctic climate ( Köppen Dfc ). This Colorado state location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Denver %26 Rio Grande Railroad The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad ( reporting mark DRGW ), often shortened to Rio Grande , D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad ,

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2178-702: Is an intercity rail route in the United States that runs between Miami and Orlando , Florida . Part of the route runs on track owned and shared by the Florida East Coast Railway . Brightline is the only privately owned and operated intercity passenger railroad in the United States. Its development started in March 2012 as All Aboard Florida by Florida East Coast Industries , a Floridian real estate developer owned by Fortress Investment Group . Construction began in November 2014 and

2277-567: Is in negotiations with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to lease right-of-way along the Interstate 4 corridor. Brightline was the only bidder to submit a proposal to construct an intercity rail line along Interstate 4, which has been designated for federally funded high-speed rail. This would be utilized for an extension of the line from Orlando International Airport to Tampa . Potential stops along this route are

2376-599: Is located at NW 2nd Avenue between Broward Boulevard and NW 4th Street. The four-acre station site has a 60,000 sq ft (5,600 m ) station and platform. The Brightline train service in Ft. Lauderdale connects to the Sun Trolley and Broward County Transit system. Brightline also owns about three acres of land to the east of the Florida East Coast Railway corridor, where there are plans to build

2475-536: Is one of the few rail services in the United States to approach the lowest high-speed rail standard set by the International Union of Railways of 200 km/h (125 mph). The travel time between Miami and Orlando is around 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 hours. Driving (without traffic) between the two takes 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 hours using the Florida's Turnpike , and 3 + 3 ⁄ 4 hours using

2574-589: Is the top priority for Brightline. In 2020, it was revealed that Brightline and local governments were planning a commuter rail service to complement the existing Brightline service. Referred to as the Northeast Corridor, trains would run between MiamiCentral and Aventura with five stations between. Brightline and the Miami-Dade County Commission agreed to access fees in November 2020. The estimated cost for full buildout of

2673-683: The Aventura Mall in Ojus, Florida . The station is 34,000 sq ft (3,200 m ) on a 3 acre site. There are 240 parking spaces at the Aventura station, as well as a Miami-Dade Transit bus drop-off. Complimentary shuttle service is available to and from the mall. In the future, it will include another bridge that will connect the platform to Aventura Mall, and it will serve as the terminus of planned Northeast Corridor Rapid Transit Project commuter rail service. The Fort Lauderdale station

2772-728: The Beachline from the Central Florida Expressway Authority for $ 1.4 million in December 2015. Construction work on Phase 2, between West Palm Beach and Orlando, officially began in June 2019, with a groundbreaking ceremony at Orlando International Airport . Preliminary work on the corridor began in September 2019, in the area of Jensen Beach and Sebastian , and began path clearing for construction of

2871-427: The Boca Raton Public Library was officially chosen as a station site for the station. In October 2019, Miami-Dade County allocated $ 76 million to build a Brightline Aventura station by the Aventura Mall in Ojus, Florida , between Miami and Fort Lauderdale. At the time of the announcement, the projected opening date was October 2020. Groundbreaking on the station occurred in September 2020. On June 21, 2023, it

2970-561: The COVID-19 pandemic . All train services ceased, and the company cut 250 jobs. Construction north to Orlando continued, as well as plans for the stations in Aventura and Boca Raton. In January 2021, the company stated that service would begin again in "late 2021," contrary to their earlier estimate of the third quarter of 2021. The company said that most station and operations staff would be brought back approximately 30–60 days before services resumed. Throughout January 2021 and May 2021,

3069-509: The I-95 / SR 528 freeways along the planned train route via Cocoa. The flight time between MIA and MCO (Orlando International Airport) is 1 hour, though with the suggested 2 hour arrival at the airport prior to departure by airlines, the flight trip is around 3 hours (not including last mile transportation). In High speed rail in Europe and East Asia, the travel time at which rail starts to attract

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3168-487: The Interstate 15 corridor from Las Vegas to Southern California. Two key counties on the coastal route north of the West Palm Beach station have, for various reasons, been fighting the extension of the rail line through Martin and Indian River Counties in court. One of their objections is that Brightline is owned by a private corporation, so they should not be allowed to issue tax-exempt bonds as if they were

3267-690: The Mesa Verde , Colorado, cliff dwellings, in 1891, en route to the National Museum of Finland . In 1901, the Denver & Rio Grande merged with the Rio Grande Western, consolidating in 1908. However, the railroad was weakened by speculators, who had used the Rio Grande's equity to finance Western Pacific Railroad construction. The United States Railroad Administration (USRA) took over the D&RG during World War I . In 1918,

3366-554: The Rio Grande . Closely assisted by his friend and new business partner Dr. William Bell , Palmer's new "Baby Road" laid the first rails out of Denver on July   28, 1871, and reached the location of the new town of Colorado Springs (then the Fountain Colony) by October   21. Narrow gauge was chosen in part because construction and equipment costs would be relatively more affordable when weighed against that of

3465-500: The Southern Pacific Transportation Company (SP). The D&RGW used Southern Pacific's name with SP due to its name recognition among shippers. In time, the D&RGW's fast freight philosophy gave way to SP's long-established practice of running long, slow trains. A contributing factor was the rising cost of diesel fuel , a trend that set in after the 1973 oil crisis , which gradually undermined

3564-557: The SunRail Meadow Woods station and Lakeland . The deadline for the negotiations between Central Florida Expressway Authority, FDOT, and Brightline was March 31, 2020. In September 2020, the railroad entered into a memorandum of understanding with a local developer to potentially construct the terminal station in Ybor City . In November 2020, Brightline and Walt Disney World Resort announced an agreement to build

3663-635: The Treasure Coast would be built in Stuart . The current plan sees the station beginning service by the end of 2026. On March 12, 2024, Brightline officially announced that an infill station on the Space Coast would be built in Cocoa . However, a timeline for construction or opening has not yet been established. As part of the initial construction for Brightline, All Aboard Florida said it

3762-740: The standard-gauge Colorado Pacific Rio Grande Railroad , with passenger excursion trains service provided by the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad . Two narrow-gauge segments survive as steam railroads , the Antonito–Chama line as the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad and Durango–Silverton as the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad . Rio Grande Southern Railroad connected to San Juan Extension in Durango and went through

3861-403: The 1950s and 1960s. At the end of 1970, it operated 1,903 miles (3,063 km) of road on 3,227 miles (5,193 km) of track; that year it carried 7,733 ton-miles of revenue freight and 21 million passenger-miles. Two of the most scenic routes survived in operation by the D&RGW until they were sold to tourist railroad operators. The Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad assumed operation of

3960-476: The Colorado Midland to build a line from Glenwood Springs connecting with D&RG at Grand Junction. Originally considered a secondary branch route to Grand Junction, the entire route from Leadville to Grand Junction was upgraded to standard gauge in 1890, and the original narrow-gauge route via Marshall Pass became a secondary route. The first (1881-1889) Denver & Rio Grande Western Railway built

4059-659: The Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad. At present, no one lives at the summit of Cumbres Pass, though when the railroad operated as a common carrier line, railroad personnel were stationed at the pass full-time. The Pass is on the Continental Divide Trail and represents a transition between states. Northbound hikers head toward Colorado's San Juan Mountain Wilderness while southbound hikers enter New Mexico's Carson National Forest . Cumbres Trestle SNOTEL

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4158-454: The D&RG fell into receivership after the bankruptcy of Western Pacific. The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW or DRGW) was incorporated in 1920, and formally emerged as the new re-organization of the old Denver & Rio Grande Railroad on July 31, 1921. In 1931, the D&RGW acquired the Denver and Salt Lake Western Railroad, a paper railroad subsidiary of the Denver and Salt Lake Railroad (D&SL) which had acquired

4257-511: The D&RG in August, 1883, while retaining that position with the Western. Frederick Lovejoy would soon fill Palmer's vacated seat on the D&RG, the first in a succession of post Palmer presidents that would attempt to direct the railroad through future struggles and successes. Following bitter conflict with the Rio Grande Western during lease disagreements and continued financial struggles,

4356-469: The D&RG went into receivership in July, 1884, with court-appointed receiver William S. Jackson in control. Eventual foreclosure and sale of the original Denver & Rio Grande Railway resulted within two years, and the new Denver & Rio Grande Railroad took formal control of the property and holdings on July   14, 1886, with Jackson appointed as president. General Palmer would continue as president of

4455-730: The D&RGW refused to join the national Amtrak system, and continued to operate its share of the Zephyr equipment as the Rio Grande Zephyr between Denver and Salt Lake City. By 1983, however, citing continued losses in revenue, the D&RGW decided to get out of the passenger business altogether and join Amtrak. With this move, Amtrak rerouted the San Francisco Zephyr to the Moffat Road line and rebranded it as

4554-652: The D&RGW that are not part of the Union Pacific network today include: The largest collection of surviving California Zephyr equipment can be found at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum at Portola, California , although this museum focuses on the Western Pacific Railroad , rather than the Rio Grande. Museums that focus on the D&RGW include: Museums using former D&RGW depots as buildings include: Brightline Brightline ( reporting mark BLFX )

4653-406: The D&RGW's fuel-consuming "fast freight" philosophy. By the early 1990s, the combined Rio Grande/Southern Pacific system had lost much of the competitive advantage that made it attractive to transcontinental shippers, and became largely dependent on hauling the high-quality coal produced in the mine fields of Colorado and Utah. D&RGW locomotives retained their reporting marks and colors after

4752-586: The Federal Railroad Administration in January 2013, effectively clearing way for work to begin between Miami and West Palm Beach. The Final Environmental Impact Statement was released on August 4, 2015. By the beginning of 2015, the company had started site work at the Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach stations, plus right-of-way improvements along stretches of the corridor. On November 10, 2015, All Aboard Florida announced that

4851-506: The Fort Lauderdale station began with the demolition of existing buildings on the site. A groundbreaking ceremony for the West Palm Beach station was held in November 2014. Moss & Associates, of Fort Lauderdale, was the general contractor for the West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale stations. In January 2015, crews started replacing tracks throughout the corridor. All Aboard Florida secured leasing of easement rights alongside

4950-573: The Miami–West Palm Beach section with the laying of new tracks and closure of the temporary surface lots in Government Center , Downtown Miami , in mid-2014. Preliminary work on the Miami station, such as site preparation and demolition, began later in the year. Suffolk Construction was the general contractor for the Miami station. Piles were being set on the four lots of MiamiCentral in early 2015. On October 29, 2014, work on

5049-541: The Orlando International Airport (MCO). In 2019, Brightline operations sent a letter to the city of Boca Raton about the possibility of adding their city as an infill station along the Florida route. Brightline proposed constructing the station and rail infrastructure while the city would cover access and zoning requirements and costs. In December 2019, the former community garden next to

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5148-470: The Orlando International Airport. A future extension to Tampa from Orlando is in the planning stages. Originally, trains on this corridor would operate at up to 125 mph (200 km/h); but recently, a maximum speed of 150 mph (240 km/h) has been reported more frequently as of 2024. Although unconfirmed, these speeds may potentially mean Brightline Tampa sharing similar infrastructure and rolling stock that will be seen with Brightline West . It

5247-609: The Orlando–Cocoa portion in October of that year. As of May 2019 , the contractors on the project were the Hubbard Construction Company, Wharton-Smith Inc., The Middlesex Corporation, Granite, and HSR Constructors. These five contractors are responsible for the development of 170 miles (270 km) of new track into the completed state-of-the-art intermodal facility located in the new South Terminal at

5346-450: The UP has painted in stylized colors to help preserve the image of the railroads it has merged; the others are Missouri Pacific Railroad , Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad , Chicago and North Western Railway , Southern Pacific Railroad , and Western Pacific Railroad . The following people served as presidents (or the equivalent) of the D&RGW and its predecessors. By the beginning of 1948

5445-491: The Union Pacific's faster, less mountainous route and 39 3/4-hour schedules, the California Zephyr offered a more leisurely journey – a "rail cruise" – with ample vistas of the Rockies. Although the California Zephyr ran at full capacity and turned a modest profit from its 1949 inception through the late 1950s, by the mid-1960s the train was profitable only during the late spring, summer, and fall. In 1970, Western Pacific, claiming multimillion-dollar losses, dropped out. However,

5544-457: The Union Pacific, was retired by UP in December, 2008. As previously promised by UP, the D&RGW 5371 was donated to the Utah State Railroad Museum at Ogden's Union Station on August   17, 2009, and will reside in the Eccles Rail Center at the south end of the building. The museum is located at 25th Street and Wall Ave in Ogden, Utah. Many other Rio Grande locomotives still run in service with Union Pacific but have been "patch-renumbered," with

5643-424: The Utah line until retirement (due to company re-organization) in 1901. Throughout the railroad's history its primary heavy repair shops were located south of Denver , Colorado in Burnham. They were built in 1871 and equipped to service both narrow gauge and standard gauge rolling stock. In 1922 the site received $ 3 million in upgrades, expanding the capacity to repair locomotives and cars. The last steam locomotive

5742-551: The company could break even at 56% of their ridership forecast. By the end of 2018, almost 600,000 passengers had ridden the train, and the line welcomed its 1 millionth rider in August 2019. Service was suspended from March 2020 until November 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2022, Brightline transported over 100,000 passengers. This was the first time it crossed the 100,000 passengers per month mark. In December 2022, Brightline served over 183,000 riders. In April 2024 Brightline Florida carried 223,117 riders, which

5841-455: The company owned 318 steam locomotives, 62 diesel locomotives , 179 passenger cars and 14,662 freight cars . In 1962, there were 22 steam locomotives, 257 diesel locomotives, 96 passenger cars and 12,386 freight cars. This is a partial list of D&RGW passenger trains. Westbound trains had odd numbers, while eastbound trains had even numbers. Many of the trains were named and renamed as well as being re-numbered. There are over 180 names on

5940-425: The consolidation with the Southern Pacific and would do so until the Union Pacific merger. The one noticeable change was to Southern Pacific's "Bloody Nose" paint scheme. The serif font on the sides of the locomotives was replaced by the Rio Grande's "speed lettering", which was utilized on all SP locomotives built or repainted after the merger. On September 11, 1996, Anschutz sold the combined D&RGW/SP system with

6039-403: The current incarnation of the California Zephyr . Even as the D&RGW exploited the best new standard-gauge technology to compete with other transcontinental carriers, the railroad continued to operate the surviving steam-powered narrow-gauge lines, including the famed narrow-gauge line between Durango and Silverton, Colorado . Most of the remaining narrow-gauge trackage was abandoned in

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6138-406: The defenders to leave. In March, 1880, a Boston Court granted the AT&SF the rights to Raton Pass, while the D&RG paid an exorbitant $ 1.4   million for the trackage extending through the Arkansas River 's Royal Gorge . The D&RG's possession of this route allowed quick access to the booming mining district of Leadville, Colorado . While this "Treaty of Boston" did not exactly favor

6237-400: The line between Antonito, Colorado , and Chama, New Mexico , in 1970. The last D&RGW narrow-gauge line, from Durango to Silverton, was sold in 1981 to the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad , exactly one hundred years after the line went into operation. In 1988, Rio Grande Industries , the company that controlled the D&RGW under the direction of Philip Anschutz , purchased

6336-407: The line is $ 325 million. Operations were expected to start as early as 2024. By 2023, station locations had been identified and service frequencies for trains were expected to be every 30 to 60 minutes. In 2021, the Florida Department of Transportation and Broward County executed a memorandum of understanding to implement a passenger transportation system along the FEC corridor. Plans call for

6435-401: The line until September 1967. Freight service on the line ended in 1968 and since 1970 the railroad from Chama to Antonito has been owned and operated by the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad , which operates trains over the pass during the tourist season. The original section house, car inspectors house, and part of the old snowshed remain on Cumbres Pass and are maintained by the Friends of

6534-502: The line, while the remainder skip Boca Raton station. During the first two and a half months of introductory service between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, ridership totaled 74,780, increasing from 17,800 in January to 32,900 in March 2018. The company itself announced that the ridership has been triple what had been expected. The forecast provided to bond investors calls for 240,000 passengers per month by 2020, which includes service to Miami, and analyst Fitch Ratings has said that

6633-424: The longest narrow-gauge tangent tracks in U.S. railroading (52.82 miles or 85 kilometers) also linked Alamosa with Salida to the north. From Antonito a line was built over 10,015 feet (3,053 m) Cumbres Pass , along the Colorado - New Mexico border, reaching Durango, Colorado , in August, 1881 and continuing north to the rich mining areas around Silverton in July, 1882. A line was also constructed in 1902 as

6732-465: The median of Interstate 15 . Fortress's Wes Edens has stated that Brightline's service is modeled off of Eurostar 's Paris-to-London commute. Its coach design includes white-and-blue interiors, roomy seating, and free Wi-Fi. Wes Edens has also expressed interest for Brightline in interviews during the Brightline West groundbreaking ceremony to connect other city pairings which are denoted by Brightline as "Too Long To Drive & Too Short To Fly", with

6831-413: The nation's most productive coal mining regions, retired coal-fueled steam locomotives as quickly as new, replacement diesels could be purchased. By 1956, the D&RGW's standard-gauge steam locomotives had been retired and scrapped. The reason for this was that unlike steam locomotives, diesel locomotives could easily be combined, using the diesels' multiple unit capabilities, to equip each train with

6930-572: The new "Brightline 2.0" model of utilizing Interstate land and medians to connect city pairs up. With Edens using example of city pairs such as: Other corridors have been shown on official Brightline "Too Long To Drive & Too Short To Fly" maps with more denoted corridors than mentioned above: Upon full buildout of the Miami–Orlando route, trains operate at up to 79 mph (130 km/h) between Miami and West Palm Beach , up to 110 mph (180 km/h) between West Palm Beach and Cocoa, and up to 125 mph (200 km/h) between Cocoa and

7029-536: The optimum horsepower which was needed to meet the D&RGW's aggressive schedule. The D&RGW's sense of its unique geographical challenge found expression in the form of the California Zephyr , a passenger train which was jointly operated with the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) from Chicago to Denver, the D&RGW from Denver to Salt Lake City, and the Western Pacific Railroad from Salt Lake City to Oakland , California (with ferry and bus connections to San Francisco ). Unable to compete with

7128-598: The parent company Southern Pacific Rail Corporation to the Union Pacific Corporation , partly in response to the earlier merger of Burlington Northern and Santa Fe which formed the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway . As the Union Pacific absorbed the D&RGW into its system, signs of the fabled mountain railroad's existence are slowly fading away. D&RGW 5371, the only original D&RGW locomotive in full Rio Grande paint on

7227-603: The prevailing standard gauge . Palmer's first hand impressions of the Ffestiniog Railway in Wales buoyed his interest in the narrow-gauge concept which would prove to be advantageous while conquering the mountainous regions of the Southwest. Eventually the route of the D&RG would be amended (including a plan to continue south from Pueblo over Raton Pass) and added to as new opportunities and competition challenged

7326-737: The project Brightline West. Despite funding difficulties, Brightline West has secured $ 3 billion dollars from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and $ 2.5 billion dollars of private activity bonds from the US Department of Transportation . Construction for the 180-mile (290 km) long track started in April 22, 2024. They plan on carrying passengers between Las Vegas and Rancho Cucamonga with speeds of up to 200 mph (320 km/h) for an 85-minute trip. Trains on this line will be fully electric and run mostly in

7425-457: The purist of original D&RG intentions, the conquering of new mining settlements to the west and the future opportunity to expand into Utah was realized from this settlement. By late 1880, William Bell had begun to organize railway construction in Utah that would become the Palmer controlled Denver & Rio Grande Western Railway in mid-1881. The intention of the D&RGW (aka the "Western")

7524-501: The railroad to support the turning of the helper locomotives for their return to Chama, and provide water to locomotives after the climb. Some of the structures at the pass, including the station building, were demolished when the highway was realigned. Regular passenger service was provided by the San Juan Express , running from Alamosa to Durango, which was discontinued in 1951, although numerous rail-fan specials operated over

7623-664: The railroad's expanding goals. Feverish, competitive construction plans provoked the 1877–1880 war over right of way with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway . Both rivals hired gunslingers and bought politicians while courts intervened to bring settlement to the disagreements. One anecdote of the conflict recounts June, 1879, when the Santa Fe defended its roundhouse in Pueblo with Dodge City toughs led by Bat Masterson ; on that occasion, D&RG treasurer R. F. Weitbrec paid

7722-594: The railroad's overhead signal pole lines. The D&RG also pushed west from Walsenburg, Colorado , over La Veta Pass (now "Old La Veta Pass") by 1877. At the time the 'Uptop' depot on Veta Pass, rising over 9,500 feet (2,900 m) in elevation, boasted the highest elevation for a narrow-gauge railroad. The railroad reached Alamosa by 1878. From Alamosa, a line was pushed south through Antonito eventually reaching Santa Fe, New Mexico (the Chili Line ), and west as far as Creede, Colorado . A line containing one of

7821-549: The result of a merger, the larger Southern Pacific Railroad name was chosen for identity. The Rio Grande operated as a separate division of the Southern Pacific until 1992. Today, most former D&RGW main lines are owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad while several branch lines are now operated as heritage railways by various companies. The Denver & Rio Grande Railway (D&RG)

7920-557: The rights to build a 40-mile (64 km) connection between the two railroads. After years of negotiation, the D&RGW gained trackage rights on the D&SL from Denver to the new cutoff. In 1932, the D&RGW began construction of the Dotsero Cutoff east of Glenwood Springs to near Bond on the Colorado River , at a location called Orestod (Dotsero spelled backward). Construction was completed in 1934, giving Denver

8019-485: The route began revenue service in January 2018, initially between Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach ; the Miami to Fort Lauderdale segment began revenue service in May of that year. Infill stations at Aventura and Boca Raton opened in December 2022, and the West Palm Beach to Orlando segment began revenue service in September 2023. Additional stops are being planned for the route. Brightline's maximum operating speed

8118-511: The service as Virgin Trains USA. However, in August 2020, railroad managers announced that Virgin had not provided the agreed investment money and the company would be ending its branding deal, returning to the previous Brightline brand. In March 2021, Virgin sued Brightline for $ 251.3 million because of the broken contract. In October 2023, Virgin won the lawsuit and the judge awarded Virgin $ 115 million in damages. Construction began on

8217-481: The service would operate under the name Brightline. Service between Miami and West Palm Beach began on May 19, 2018. In September 2018, Brightline acquired XpressWest , a private company that intends to connect Las Vegas , Nevada with Southern California via Victorville, California . Brightline announced the intent of purchasing 38 acres of land near the Las Vegas Strip for a station and following

8316-444: The site where Universal Epic Universe is being built for a commuter station, as well as bond guarantees. This was claimed to promote construction of an extension of Brightline that would include a brief confluence with SunRail between SunRail's Meadow Woods and Pine Castle stations, and lead through Disney eventually to Tampa. They did not mention the existing proposal to run Brightline down SR 417 to Disney Springs, but it did suggest

8415-423: The states of Colorado, New Mexico , and Utah. Known for its independence, the D&RGW operated the Rio Grande Zephyr until its discontinuation in 1983. This was the last private intercity passenger train in the United States until Brightline began service in Florida in 2018. In 1988, the Rio Grande's parent corporation, Rio Grande Industries , purchased Southern Pacific Transportation Company , and as

8514-484: The trains ran occasionally with no passengers, in order to test an upgraded corridor between the West Palm Beach and Miami train stations. Services resumed on November 8, 2021, between West Palm Beach and Miami. The route is made up of the following stations, from north to south: As of September 2023 , there are 18 daily round trips between Miami and West Palm Beach of which 16 cover the full route between Miami and Orlando. Roughly half of trains make all stops along

8613-467: The west of Quadrille. The two-acre station site has a 60,000 sq ft (5,600 m ) station and platform that connect with the neighborhood's existing vehicular, trolley and pedestrian networks and establish links to the Tri-Rail, Palm Tran Downtown Trolley and Amtrak West Palm Beach station. In 2017, the new Orlando International Airport Intermodal Terminal at Orlando International Airport

8712-548: The western edge of San Juan Mountains to Ridgway, Colorado on Montrose–Ouray branch. The D&RG built west from Leadville over 10,240 feet (3,120 m) Tennessee Pass in an attempt to reach the mining areas around Aspen, Colorado , before its rival railroad in the area, the Colorado Midland , could build a line reaching there. The D&RG built a line through Glenwood Canyon to Glenwood Springs , reaching Aspen in October, 1887. The D&RG then joined with

8811-409: Was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a 3 ft ( 914 mm ) narrow-gauge line running south from Denver , Colorado , in 1870. It served mainly as a transcontinental bridge line between Denver and Salt Lake City , Utah . The Rio Grande was also a major origin of coal and mineral traffic. The Rio Grande was a strong example of mountain railroading, with

8910-724: Was an increase of 48% year over year. The five South Florida stations were designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in association with Zyscovich Architects . Rockwell Group designed the interiors. All of the Brightline stations have adjacent parking at a paid rate per day. The downtown Miami station, known as MiamiCentral (not to be confused with Miami Central Station, now known as Miami Intermodal Center , near Miami International Airport ), spans 9 acres (3.6 ha) located just east of Miami-Dade County Hall and includes 3 million square feet (280,000 m ) of mixed-use development with residential, office and commercial, and

9009-616: Was announced that construction was completed. Revenue service between Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach began on January 13, 2018. Revenue service between Miami and Fort Lauderdale began on May 19, 2018. The station in Boca Raton began service on December 21, 2022, while the station in Aventura began service on December 24, 2022. Revenue service between West Palm Beach and Orlando began on September 22, 2023. Brightline suspended operations on March 25, 2020, due to

9108-408: Was considering an extension to Jacksonville, Florida . Brightline currently owns passenger trackage rights along the entire Florida East Coast Railway corridor, making the prospect of an expansion of Brightline to Jacksonville much simpler due to some of the existing rail infrastructure already in place. However, no commitment has been made in writing, as starting the development of the line to Tampa

9207-551: Was incorporated on October   27, 1870, by General William Jackson Palmer (1836–1909), and a board of four directors. It was originally announced that the new 3 ft ( 914 mm ) railroad would proceed south from Denver and travel an estimated 875 miles (1,408 km) south to El Paso via Pueblo, westward along the Arkansas River, and continue southward through the San Luis Valley of Colorado toward

9306-493: Was no longer required for direct service), but a problem still remained: for transcontinental service, the Union Pacific 's more northerly line was far less mountainous (and, as a result, several hours faster). The D&RGW's solution was its "fast freight" philosophy, which employed multiple diesel locomotives pulling short, frequent trains. This philosophy helps to explain why the D&RGW, despite its proximity to one of

9405-423: Was not uncommon to see trains running with midtrain and rear-end helpers. In 1997, a year after the D&RGW/SP merger with Union Pacific, the UP closed the line. Although it has been out of service for more than two decades, the rails are still in usable condition, though many of the signals have been ravaged by time and vandals. In 2011, under a federal Beautification Grant, a private contractor removed and scrapped

9504-418: Was opened. Brightline terminates at this station after the 170-mile (270 km) Orlando Extension track was built. Trains run up to 125 mph (200 km/h) with a travel time of approximately 3.5 hours from Orlando's airport to Miami. The first test run of the Brightline train into Orlando station happened on May 17, 2022. Revenue service began on September 22, 2023. As of September 2019 , Brightline

9603-778: Was pushed to Leadville later that same year. From Salida, the D&RG pushed west over the Continental Divide at the 10,845 feet (3,306 m) Marshall Pass and reached Gunnison on August 6, 1881. From Gunnison the line entered the Black Canyon of the Gunnison River passing the famous Curecanti Needle seen in their famous Scenic Line of the World Herald. The tracks left the increasingly-difficult canyon at Cimmaron and passed over Cerro Summit , reaching Montrose on September 8, 1882. From Montrose,

9702-518: Was serviced in 1956, at which time the locomotive department was converted to service diesel engines. The other major back shop site was in Salt Lake City , Utah, built in 1883. The shops in Alamosa , Colorado primarily serviced narrow gauge rolling stock. The D&RG built west from Pueblo reaching Cañon City in 1874. The line through the Royal Gorge reached Salida on May 20, 1880, and

9801-514: Was to work eastward from Provo to an eventual link with westward bound D&RG in Colorado. This physical connection was realized near the Green River on March   30, 1883, and by May of that year the D&RG formally leased its Utah subsidiary as previously planned. By mid-1883, financial difficulties due to aggressive growth and expenditures led to a shake up among the D&RG board of directors, and General Palmer resigned as president of

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