Ghost Train

In 2004, Denver-area voters backed one of the most ambitious transit projects in the U.S. This plan called for a sprawling network of new rail lines that would help commuters glide by clogged roadways and transform Denver into a world-class city. But as train lines opened, some uncomfortable truths emerged: The trains aren’t very useful to most people. The trains have done relatively little to shift how people move around the region. And they cost a lot of money.
Denver’s love affair with trains is one of shared dreams and unstoppable personalities. It’s the story of billions of dollars and gleaming new infrastructure for a city on the rise. And for one particular corner of the metro area, it’s a story of disappointment and betrayal.
Ghost Train is the story of how one polluted, traffic-choked city went all in on trains, and what happened when that plan jumped the track.

Nathaniel Minor, the transportation reporter for Colorado Public Radio, has spent years trying to understand this anger, what these trains were meant to accomplish and whether they’re succeeding. But this story is about so much more than one train system in Colorado. Because Denver’s not the only place opening new rail lines. Cities all across America are turning to rail to face down big issues like climate change, traffic and inequity.

Ghost Train from CPR News starts Feb. 8. Subscribe now so you don’t miss an episode.

With a brown cloud hovering overhead and a second-place football team, Denver had dreams of becoming a world-class city. But it wasn't until the turn of the millennium that it found a way to get there: trains. Part 1 of 4.
Hosted and reported by Nathaniel Minor
Editors: Erin Jones, Joe Wertz
Production and mixing: Rebekah Romberg
Additional production: Luis Antonio Perez
Theme song by Daniel Mescher. Additional music via Universal Production Music.
Artwork: Mia Rincón
Executive producers: Kevin Dale, Brad Turner
Additional editorial support: Jo Erickson, Alison Borden, Rachel Estabrook, Ana Campbell, Sherkiya Wedgeworth-Hollowell, Andrew Villegas, Dave Burdick
Archival tape thanks: Heather Dalton and Dominic Dezzutti at CPT-12; Tim Wieland and Steve Vriesman at CBS4 Denver; Kevin Krug at KMGH Denver7.
Thanks also to Kim Nguyen, Jodi Gersh, Clara Shelton, Hart Van Denburg.
Ghost Train is a production of CPR News and Colorado Public Radio's Audio Innovations Studio.
www.cpr.org/podcast/ghost-train
On Twitter:
@COPublicRadio
@nbminor
Correction: An earlier version of this episode incorrectly said Seattle had built a light rail system in the 1990s. The reference has been removed.

Sam Chesser loved the transit system when he visited New York City. So Sam, like many voters, supported a vision he thought would make his beloved hometown, Denver, just as accessible. That allowed transit planners to spend billions of dollars laying rail track. But almost two decades later, who actually uses it? Part 2 of 4.
Hosted and reported by Nathaniel Minor
Editors: Erin Jones, Joe Wertz
Production and mixing: Rebekah Romberg
Additional production: Luis Antonio Perez
Theme song by Daniel Mescher. Additional music via Universal Production Music.
Artwork: Mia Rincón
Executive producers: Kevin Dale, Brad Turner
Additional editorial support: Jo Erickson, Alison Borden, Rachel Estabrook, Ana Campbell, Sherkiya Wedgeworth-Hollowell, Andrew Villegas, Dave Burdick
Archival tape thanks: Heather Dalton and Dominic Dezzutti at CPT-12; Tim Wieland and Steve Vriesman at CBS4 Denver; Kevin Krug at KMGH Denver7.
Thanks also to Kim Nguyen, Jodi Gersh, Clara Shelton, Hart Van Denburg.
Ghost Train is a production of CPR News and Colorado Public Radio's Audio Innovations Studio.
www.cpr.org/podcast/ghost-train
On Twitter:
@COPublicRadio
@nbminor

The Denver metro area's rail system mostly neglects the dense, walkable parts of the city. Why is that? And now, after we've spent decades prioritizing freedom in how we get around, is it time to change the way we live? Part 3 of 4.
Hosted and reported by Nathaniel Minor
Editors: Erin Jones, Joe Wertz
Production and mixing: Rebekah Romberg
Additional production: Luis Antonio Perez
Theme song by Daniel Mescher. Additional music via Universal Production Music.
Artwork: Mia Rincón
Executive producers: Kevin Dale, Brad Turner
Additional editorial support: Jo Erickson, Alison Borden, Rachel Estabrook, Ana Campbell, Sherkiya Wedgeworth-Hollowell, Andrew Villegas, Dave Burdick
Archival tape thanks: Heather Dalton and Dominic Dezzutti at CPT-12; Tim Wieland and Steve Vriesman at CBS4 Denver; Kevin Krug at KMGH Denver7.
Thanks also to Kim Nguyen, Jodi Gersh, Clara Shelton, Hart Van Denburg.
Ghost Train is a production of CPR News and Colorado Public Radio's Audio Innovations Studio.
www.cpr.org/podcast/ghost-train
On Twitter:
@COPublicRadio
@nbminor

After the lessons of rail, the Denver region might just be ready to move into a bus-centric transit future that better addresses climate change, air quality, and inequity. But there's one unfulfilled promise standing in the way: the Boulder train. Is it time for locals to let that go, or is there hope on the horizon? Part 4 of 4.
Hosted and reported by Nathaniel Minor
Editors: Erin Jones, Joe Wertz
Production and mixing: Rebekah Romberg
Additional production: Luis Antonio Perez
Theme song by Daniel Mescher. Additional music via Universal Production Music.
Artwork: Mia Rincón
Executive producers: Kevin Dale, Brad Turner
Additional editorial support: Jo Erickson, Alison Borden, Rachel Estabrook, Ana Campbell, Sherkiya Wedgeworth-Hollowell, Andrew Villegas, Dave Burdick
Archival tape thanks: Heather Dalton and Dominic Dezzutti at CPT-12; Tim Wieland and Steve Vriesman at CBS4 Denver; Kevin Krug at KMGH Denver7.
Thanks also to Kim Nguyen, Jodi Gersh, Clara Shelton, Hart Van Denburg.
Ghost Train is a production of CPR News and Colorado Public Radio's Audio Innovations Studio.
www.cpr.org/podcast/ghost-train
On Twitter:
@COPublicRadio
@nbminor