Colorado Joint Line

The Colorado Joint Line is a railway corridor in Colorado running between Denver and Pueblo. Tracks are owned by BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad in joint operation.

The Santa Fe Bridge in Larkspur, Colorado.

History
A southbound Santa Fe coal train underneath Pikes Peak, on the Colorado Joint Line out of Denver, April 1983.

The first set of tracks in the area were laid by the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad in 1871. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway laid their tracks parallel to the DRGW in 1888.

Operation

The line consists of rails owned by the two companies with non-continuous sections. One track is designated the Union Pacific Colorado Springs Subdivision. The second track is the BNSF Pikes Peak Subdivision.[1] Both companies operate trains over the line with a directional scheme. The line is single tracked between Palmer Lake and Colorado Springs.[2] Colorado and Southern Railway had trackage rights over the line.[3]

References
  1. BNSF Subdivisions (PDF) (Map). BNSF. September 1, 2011.
  2. Ingles, J. David (2001). Guide to North American Railroad Hot Spots. Kalmbach Books. p. 37. ISBN 9780890243732.
  3. Danneman, Mike (2019). Railroads of Colorado. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 9781445668970.
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