RTD temporarily re-assigns staff to help riders navigate light rail delays, detours
DENVER (KDVR) — The Regional Transportation District is launching a new pilot program aimed at helping customers navigate the public transportation system through a summer of construction projects that are causing detours and delays.
The Impact Team is made up of about 40 RTD staffers who, in addition to their regular roles, will spend a few hours per week at stops to act as customer service ambassadors.
How to navigate around RTD repair project
The program launched in mid-May ahead of a planned project to replace aging rail lines in the downtown Denver loop. The work requires service to be suspended through the city’s central corridor through September. Busses are in place to connect passengers to certain destinations.
“You see a lot of these signs here saying ‘rail detour.’ We wanted to make sure our customers were very very well informed of that,” Betsy Hinojosa said.
Hinojosa is a business program manager at RTD. She is also part of the Impact Team.
“Some of it is the customer knows what they need to do but they just need to have someone tell them ‘yes, you’re on the right path. You’re going the right direction, yes that is the correct bus route,’” she said.
RTD rail project scope shifted as conditions emerged
The scope of the work has shifted slightly after RTD discovered rail burn on multiple sections of its system. Rail burn is caused by a train wheel scuffing the track.
In May, RTD adopted a new set of standards that say when rail burn is three inches or larger, trains must be slowed down to a maximum speed of 10 miles per hour.
RTD: Rail damage causing major slowdowns to trains, more delays to come
“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 and so rather than waiting until there is a problem we’re taking a proactive approach,” RTD Assistant General Manager of Rail Operations Dave Jensen said.
To fix it, crews must either grind down the scuff marks or replace sections of the line entirely. The work is largely happening overnight, but is expected to take until September to fix all the sections of the E, H and R lines.
“If I’m not aware of that, you know, I’m waiting, I’m waiting, I’m waiting,” Hinojosa said. “We can be there to provide reassurance and wait alongside.”
Friday morning, she spent three hours at the Belleview station and the Arapahoe Village Center. She said the number one question she gets is, “When is my train going to arrive?”
The answer to that question depends on the line, the stop where riders are starting, the stop where they’re headed and the direction.
As RTD completes work on a section of rail burn, the speed restrictions will be lifted. On Thursday, trains running southbound between Arapahoe and Orchard resumed their normal 55 mph speeds.
According to Jensen, while rail burn will occur in the future, the work happening now will prevent future problems from overwhelming the system.
Bustang service offered for RTD riders frustrated by light rail delays
“Once this is repaired, if there is a rail burn and it’s a small one … we could go in overnight and fix that pretty quickly,” he said.
The Impact Team will focus on morning and evening commutes at busy stations. Team members will also be present on weekends where ridership is expected to increase for special events, like concerts and sporting events.
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