Thanks for having me on to talk about this amazing project we are working on. We cannot do this without support from the community. Contact as many people as you know including friends, family, elected officials. The Rio Grande Plan truly is grassroots and needs all the support it can get.
Awesome video! You definitely do your research and let your passion for transit show. Thank you for helping to spread support for the Rio Grande Plan! ❤️
This is an incredible opportunity that needs to be done. It solves so many different problems at once and opens up the potential to turn that wilderness next to downtown in a a residential area.
We need the Rio Grande Plan to really connect the community better! It's more than worthwhile, it's completely transformative and will completely improve the transit experience we have in Utah. The Rio Grand Plan will shatter any and all expectations be they positive or negative if it's given the chance
The idea of using redevelopment to pay back the cost of the tunnel resonates with me. I grew up in a neighborhood of Montreal called Town of Mount Royal that was created at the north portal of the Mount Royal Tunnel as a base for commuter traffic that would provide revenue for the railroad that built it. It didn't work out for that railroad. It went bust in the post-Great War consolidations that lead to Canada's railways being nationalized. But the Deux Montagnes commuter line that took over the tracks was always the busiest in Montreal. My dad was always taking it downtown to Gare Centrale. Ironically, the REM automated metro line that is replacing the old commuter line was opposed by the locals who don't want densification to sully their garden city 'burb...
Inside of me are two wolves. The foamer side who knows my connections in the freight railroads and UTA are skeptical of this happening, and the urbanist side who wants to see train depot and grade separation 😂 Great video! It was a pleasure to meet you and the RGP folks to have a discussion about SLC urbanism
I would even go a step further, after the Tracks are relocated under the Rio Grande Terminal and the rail-yard war removed. Use the now empty space of the old yard to burry I-15. you can cut and cover that on completely empty land so it should be very cheap to do.
I've had the exact same idea for awhile actually. The state is trying to set aside several billion to reconfigure and widen that stretch. Why not use those billions to just dig a huge trench in the opened up land, stick the freeway down there and make it as wide as they want or whatever, and then open up and extra 30 some odd acres currently taken up by the freeway ROW to add to the already existing RGP land. Yeah it'd be expensive but they're already planning on spending that money on that stretch of freeway anyways. I'm sure the feds wouldn't mind throwing in an extra few billion for it. And I know it's hard to build on top of cut and covers but you could always just have it be a greenway like the Boston Big Dig. So we'd get 70+ acres of new development AND a park now too, the state still gets their big freeway and we get the RGP. Win-win-win
@@jacobbashford2182Denver did it with our own Central I-70 ditch project. They put a bandage strip across the canyon as a “cover” with a little turf so the school nearby wouldn’t look over the pollution source (air, sound, visual). Watch Austin and the I-35 project for inspiration to gather support.
I recently walked past by the Rio Grande building for the first time and I was shocked about how such a classic building is not being used for something like this. It would be absolutely amazing not just for the riders and to help with he train divide but also as a tourist attraction.
This plan reminds me of Valencia’s Parque Central project. In that case they’re burying all the rails into the city and combining the two current stations into one underground central station that will serve intercity, high speed, and commuter traffic. A city center tunnel is also being dug so that trains from the new station will be able to through run to the north, instead of having to loop around to the south and east. Valencia is mostly building I gigantic park in the space vacated by the old rail approach, but with some development as well. And the city center tunnel will also include a couple new commuter rail stations.
This is a really nice video but I think those texts that flash for 0.25 of a second are really distracting and hard to read. I think you should either extend them to 2 seconds or not have them at all. Especially when there are so many of them
The Rio Grande Plan sounds like a great project. I certainly hope others cities aren’t waiting for inspiration, and delaying needed transit for another generation. California High-Speed Rail, the Olympics are coming to California.😉
I live in Idaho Falls ID. I so badly want this to happen because then it means connecting passenger rail to my city is more of a possibility cause a big new station in SLC means better support for passenger rail regionally.
I’m excited for SLC to have this opportunity! They could just look due east to see the billions of $ that have been invested in the Union Station neighborhood of Denver, not dissimilar to SLC with a former train yard, grand train station and now thousands of expensive apartments, office buildings and retail spaces that have low vacancy. In fact, the Union Station redevelopment got paid back so quickly that they’re asking to use the funds ($1/2B over 20+ years) to do other expenses, both for private and public benefit in the downtown area-most of which will probably benefit foreign corporations, but at least we get pretty buildings to be barred from😉
I’d love to see you guys get rewarded for your effort and the enrichment of the development corporations. Be sure to connect with investors who know how to craft purchase options for you the benefit from when the project gets going and your efforts turn back lot in gold mines!
It would not be necessary. The freight lines are double track in that area and by putting them underground, they can move faster due to not having interference from crossings. Besides, for the big freight railroads, adding capacity just means making the existing trains even longer which is one of the issues SLC faces with the rail current alignment. As far as "metro" services, FrontRunner (the regional passenger line) already runs on dedicated tracks owned by UTA. They purchased the old Denver & Rio Grande line form Union Pacific as they were redundant after the UP/D&RGW merger. UTA will add capacity to FrontRunner by double tracking much of the alignment as currently, its single track with passing at sidings and stations. Amtrak could use the FrontRunner tracks for access to the new Rio Grande station. There are plans to expand Amtrak service regionally.
Thank you for the superb video. Clearly, if SLC takes the necessary steps, the "Rio Grande" neighbourhood could become quite stunning and inviting. Currently, it is an urban wasteland. YUCK! By the way, I am watching from the Netherlands. (NOTE: "separation"... NOT "seperation")
That's cute an underground trench for diesel trains. Where will the exhaust of the diesel trains go? So folks on the underground station platform waiting for a train in this design will be breathing diesel particulates.
Highlighters and maps are cheap. Tunnels are INSANELY expensive. An open trench (like the Alameda Corridor project) with overcrossings and lids might be a more reasonable approach.
One thing to note is that desiel trains cannot run inside enclosed tunnels. This means that the entire corridor needs to be electrified, which is borderline impossible. They will need to come up with a solution for that
its ok to have slow trains near stations , where they slow down 4:00 / 13:55. Further more looking at the rest of the video , this project is at best a waste of money, what the right would call a boondoggle. This 'plan' ( not made by professionals and it shows) will essentially build 3 km s of not quad by six tracks or in other terms 9 km s of track 9!!!!!!!! (6x3/2) that's a full subways length; and a full subways length merely to move tracks 200m to another I mean the SAME industrial parking lot the trains already serve. Instead of creating pipe dreams of a future of transit and TOD we should instead just build it now , revitalise the prexisting parking lot riden transit served and desireable areas that certainly is abundant in salt lake city. And when creating 18km long pipe dreams we should dream better , like a normal conventional subway.
This would be a game changer for Salt Lake City, I really hope it gets done!! Also didn’t Brightline West have plans to extend their line from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City
Interesting concept, but would never work with trains in the tunnels. One UP derailment and the tunnel is closed, and FrontRunner trains wouldn’t be able to make it out of the tunnel from a station stop.
i work for uta and the agency has 5 other capital priorities over the rgp to improve service. we don’t get unlimited money to dump into a project like this for the olympics. though if Salt Lake City or another entity is willing to fund this project, i don’t think there would be any huge objections from the UTA side. though i doubt completing it prior to the olympics is a reasonable goal. im certain it’d take longer than that even if construction started today. but it’s a decent idea, albeit with some complications that would require resolution to get uta on board. and even if the plan in this form isn’t adopted, there’s great elements to it that could be attributed to the existing station, too.
What existing station? The concrete plain? I understand there are lots of great things happening with UTA but this deserves some of their attention not an outright ignoring.
@ uta has a plan to build a new station and mixed use development on the salt lake central lot. it’s definitely getting attention. this is not the end-all, be-all that it’s made out to be.
@@skurinski considering the level of upheaval, disruption, and cost of rebuilding the rail alignment to be a block further east and underground for that building to be reactivated, that should tell u the whole story why a new building at the existing station is an appealing option. the city is conducting a study on the matter so time will tell whether it’s something that will be pursued.
Curious how much of this transit change is due to Ryan Smith and him bringing the Arizona Coyotes to Utah. Not to mention SLC hosting the Olympics in 2034.
The plan has existed since 2020 in some sort of capacity. It has nothing to do with Ryan or the Olympics. That all being said those things will benefit from this transit change. This project is 100% volunteer citizen run.
Thanks for having me on to talk about this amazing project we are working on. We cannot do this without support from the community. Contact as many people as you know including friends, family, elected officials. The Rio Grande Plan truly is grassroots and needs all the support it can get.
And thank you Ethan for making this awesome video!
I legitimately don’t think there’s a more slam-dunk project that a city could do than this, hope it ACTUALLY gets done
SLC resident here and I'm optimistic about our transit future
Awesome video! You definitely do your research and let your passion for transit show. Thank you for helping to spread support for the Rio Grande Plan! ❤️
woo
This is an incredible opportunity that needs to be done. It solves so many different problems at once and opens up the potential to turn that wilderness next to downtown in a a residential area.
Thank you for supporting the Rio Grande Plan!
This video was so well done and kudos to you for getting an expert to give additional information and insight into this Rio Grande Plan.
We need the Rio Grande Plan to really connect the community better! It's more than worthwhile, it's completely transformative and will completely improve the transit experience we have in Utah. The Rio Grand Plan will shatter any and all expectations be they positive or negative if it's given the chance
The idea of using redevelopment to pay back the cost of the tunnel resonates with me. I grew up in a neighborhood of Montreal called Town of Mount Royal that was created at the north portal of the Mount Royal Tunnel as a base for commuter traffic that would provide revenue for the railroad that built it. It didn't work out for that railroad. It went bust in the post-Great War consolidations that lead to Canada's railways being nationalized. But the Deux Montagnes commuter line that took over the tracks was always the busiest in Montreal. My dad was always taking it downtown to Gare Centrale.
Ironically, the REM automated metro line that is replacing the old commuter line was opposed by the locals who don't want densification to sully their garden city 'burb...
Inside of me are two wolves. The foamer side who knows my connections in the freight railroads and UTA are skeptical of this happening, and the urbanist side who wants to see train depot and grade separation 😂
Great video! It was a pleasure to meet you and the RGP folks to have a discussion about SLC urbanism
That would be incredible if they could pull that off!
Great video!! I think this plan has huge potential to be transformative for the SLC region... hopefully it gets the funding & resources it deserves!
I would even go a step further, after the Tracks are relocated under the Rio Grande Terminal and the rail-yard war removed. Use the now empty space of the old yard to burry I-15. you can cut and cover that on completely empty land so it should be very cheap to do.
I've had the exact same idea for awhile actually. The state is trying to set aside several billion to reconfigure and widen that stretch. Why not use those billions to just dig a huge trench in the opened up land, stick the freeway down there and make it as wide as they want or whatever, and then open up and extra 30 some odd acres currently taken up by the freeway ROW to add to the already existing RGP land. Yeah it'd be expensive but they're already planning on spending that money on that stretch of freeway anyways. I'm sure the feds wouldn't mind throwing in an extra few billion for it. And I know it's hard to build on top of cut and covers but you could always just have it be a greenway like the Boston Big Dig. So we'd get 70+ acres of new development AND a park now too, the state still gets their big freeway and we get the RGP. Win-win-win
@@jacobbashford2182Denver did it with our own Central I-70 ditch project. They put a bandage strip across the canyon as a “cover” with a little turf so the school nearby wouldn’t look over the pollution source (air, sound, visual). Watch Austin and the I-35 project for inspiration to gather support.
I recently walked past by the Rio Grande building for the first time and I was shocked about how such a classic building is not being used for something like this. It would be absolutely amazing not just for the riders and to help with he train divide but also as a tourist attraction.
Thanks for the chats about revitalizing old downtowns ~ I hope phoenix continues it's own stuff.
Really hoping that UTA and our mayor get on board with this. Thanks for the video!
This plan reminds me of Valencia’s Parque Central project. In that case they’re burying all the rails into the city and combining the two current stations into one underground central station that will serve intercity, high speed, and commuter traffic. A city center tunnel is also being dug so that trains from the new station will be able to through run to the north, instead of having to loop around to the south and east. Valencia is mostly building I gigantic park in the space vacated by the old rail approach, but with some development as well. And the city center tunnel will also include a couple new commuter rail stations.
Wake up babe, Climate and Transit just posted.
Arent those comments from 2017 or smth
Oh yeah i forgot, this is youtube
This city is primed for some amazing transit and walkable, bikeable neighborhoods!
This is a really nice video but I think those texts that flash for 0.25 of a second are really distracting and hard to read.
I think you should either extend them to 2 seconds or not have them at all. Especially when there are so many of them
The Rio Grande Plan sounds like a great project. I certainly hope others cities aren’t waiting for inspiration, and delaying needed transit for another generation.
California High-Speed Rail, the Olympics are coming to California.😉
Those blocked railroad crossings will get far more dangerous with double frequency Frontrunner.
Excellent reason to do the RGP! Thanks for the help with the video Nathan!
I hope this gets approved, and Murray Central gets some love too! It can feel very uncomfortable at night at those stops
Say it louder for the people in the back! 🙌🏻🙌🏻
I live in Idaho Falls ID. I so badly want this to happen because then it means connecting passenger rail to my city is more of a possibility cause a big new station in SLC means better support for passenger rail regionally.
I’m excited for SLC to have this opportunity! They could just look due east to see the billions of $ that have been invested in the Union Station neighborhood of Denver, not dissimilar to SLC with a former train yard, grand train station and now thousands of expensive apartments, office buildings and retail spaces that have low vacancy. In fact, the Union Station redevelopment got paid back so quickly that they’re asking to use the funds ($1/2B over 20+ years) to do other expenses, both for private and public benefit in the downtown area-most of which will probably benefit foreign corporations, but at least we get pretty buildings to be barred from😉
6:25 woah I’ve never seen a single level car on Frontrunner before
Used to be the standard consist before spring 2022, they shipped them out for scrap and heritage railroads last year
and they just got a hockey team too, even better
I’d love to see you guys get rewarded for your effort and the enrichment of the development corporations. Be sure to connect with investors who know how to craft purchase options for you the benefit from when the project gets going and your efforts turn back lot in gold mines!
Build it!!!!~~~~
3:59 Is that Big Boy I see?
Nice catch! I was wondering when someone would notice (:
there's so much potential here omg
Could they keep the current alignment for freight/other metro services for more capacity when the time comes?
It would not be necessary. The freight lines are double track in that area and by putting them underground, they can move faster due to not having interference from crossings. Besides, for the big freight railroads, adding capacity just means making the existing trains even longer which is one of the issues SLC faces with the rail current alignment. As far as "metro" services, FrontRunner (the regional passenger line) already runs on dedicated tracks owned by UTA. They purchased the old Denver & Rio Grande line form Union Pacific as they were redundant after the UP/D&RGW merger. UTA will add capacity to FrontRunner by double tracking much of the alignment as currently, its single track with passing at sidings and stations. Amtrak could use the FrontRunner tracks for access to the new Rio Grande station. There are plans to expand Amtrak service regionally.
They could build the olympic village behind the Rio Grande station. And afterwards turn it in to a neighbourhood, like in London?
Props to you!
This looks like a very good idea 👍
Thank you for the superb video. Clearly, if SLC takes the necessary steps, the "Rio Grande" neighbourhood could become quite stunning and inviting. Currently, it is an urban wasteland. YUCK! By the way, I am watching from the Netherlands. (NOTE: "separation"... NOT "seperation")
That's cute an underground trench for diesel trains. Where will the exhaust of the diesel trains go? So folks on the underground station platform waiting for a train in this design will be breathing diesel particulates.
Big Boy spotted at 4:06, not something to expected in a transit video
6 track grade crossings 😵💫
Highlighters and maps are cheap. Tunnels are INSANELY expensive. An open trench (like the Alameda Corridor project) with overcrossings and lids might be a more reasonable approach.
That is what the plan is going to do. Cut and cover!
@@FrederickJenny That's a tunnel, NOT an open-air trench. Thanks for answering and best of luck with the advocacy!
One thing to note is that desiel trains cannot run inside enclosed tunnels. This means that the entire corridor needs to be electrified, which is borderline impossible. They will need to come up with a solution for that
its ok to have slow trains near stations , where they slow down 4:00 / 13:55. Further more looking at the rest of the video , this project is at best a waste of money, what the right would call a boondoggle. This 'plan' ( not made by professionals and it shows) will essentially build 3 km s of not quad by six tracks or in other terms 9 km s of track 9!!!!!!!! (6x3/2) that's a full subways length; and a full subways length merely to move tracks 200m to another I mean the SAME industrial parking lot the trains already serve. Instead of creating pipe dreams of a future of transit and TOD we should instead just build it now , revitalise the prexisting parking lot riden transit served and desireable areas that certainly is abundant in salt lake city. And when creating 18km long pipe dreams we should dream better , like a normal conventional subway.
This would be a game changer for Salt Lake City, I really hope it gets done!! Also didn’t Brightline West have plans to extend their line from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City
Interesting concept, but would never work with trains in the tunnels. One UP derailment and the tunnel is closed, and FrontRunner trains wouldn’t be able to make it out of the tunnel from a station stop.
i work for uta and the agency has 5 other capital priorities over the rgp to improve service. we don’t get unlimited money to dump into a project like this for the olympics. though if Salt Lake City or another entity is willing to fund this project, i don’t think there would be any huge objections from the UTA side. though i doubt completing it prior to the olympics is a reasonable goal. im certain it’d take longer than that even if construction started today. but it’s a decent idea, albeit with some complications that would require resolution to get uta on board. and even if the plan in this form isn’t adopted, there’s great elements to it that could be attributed to the existing station, too.
What existing station? The concrete plain? I understand there are lots of great things happening with UTA but this deserves some of their attention not an outright ignoring.
@ uta has a plan to build a new station and mixed use development on the salt lake central lot. it’s definitely getting attention. this is not the end-all, be-all that it’s made out to be.
@@chandelier944 why a new station when you have an amazing iconic old building right there?
@@skurinski considering the level of upheaval, disruption, and cost of rebuilding the rail alignment to be a block further east and underground for that building to be reactivated, that should tell u the whole story why a new building at the existing station is an appealing option. the city is conducting a study on the matter so time will tell whether it’s something that will be pursued.
Curious how much of this transit change is due to Ryan Smith and him bringing the Arizona Coyotes to Utah. Not to mention SLC hosting the Olympics in 2034.
The plan has existed since 2020 in some sort of capacity. It has nothing to do with Ryan or the Olympics. That all being said those things will benefit from this transit change. This project is 100% volunteer citizen run.
This will cost 3-6 billion dollars.
And be worth every penny
Hmmm.. AHH YES a the Very least a Test case.. Does it work was it dumb.. Less or more fun.. Mo moneies?
Give me a like who has more wifes