#PIKES PEAK COG RAILROAD UPGRADE#

When it comes to guest safety, Johnston says the Cog Railway is taking a 30-day approach. The fact that we are still on schedule to reopen in May is, from a logistics standpoint, spectacular.” We obviously got thrown this curveball called COVID-19 that nobody was expecting, and what we’ve been able to do to manage through that and continue construction has been amazing. “The logistics is the biggest key to this. “When you’re trying to manage a project of this scale, it takes some very precise timing of things and trying to make that all come together,” he says. However, one factory in Switzerland closed for a week because they were not originally classified as essential, Johnston says. Most components for the railway came from essential businesses that were allowed to stay open even with COVID-19 restrictions in place. Reconstruction of the railway involved teams from around the world, which caused a small hiccup, Johnston says. The new trains will feature upgraded seats, an upgraded PA system, and heat. “The biggest issue we faced up on the mountain was lightning because lightning is more prone at those altitudes than it is down here at the base of the mountain.” In addition to keeping an eye on the sky, construction crews and staff used lightning-detection equipment and weather apps on their cell phones. “One of the biggest challenges we faced weather-wise at altitude was actually not snow, because we planned everything to be working at the higher altitudes in the late spring and summer and early fall to try and avoid snow as best as possible,” Johnston says.

Crews had to navigate weather at the top of the mountain and COVID-19 challenges. The trains have upgraded seats, an upgraded PA system-and heat.Ĭonstruction on Pikes Peak has been no small feat. Four new trains will come from Stadler Rail in Switzerland, which purchased the company that built the original trains. However, the ride will be more comfortable, he says. Johnston says the railway had to stay within the original right of way. The trains will sit on new tracks, but the views and path up the mountain will be the same as before. “But it’s still going to be the same experience that is has been for the last 130 years of taking people to the summit of Pikes Peak.” “It’s going to be the same experience that it was in terms of the trip up to the summit, but it’s going to be ushered into the 21st century in terms of new trains, new track, a completely renovated depot, upgraded gift shop,” Johnston says. When the Cog Railway reopens, guests will find a combination of familiarity and new features. The $100 million project is funded by the Anschutz Corporation.

#PIKES PEAK COG RAILROAD UPGRADE#

We were thinking we would just go in and fix those items finally, but as we started looking at those items, the cost of heavy maintenance started to outweigh the cost of replacing new.”Īfter six months of planning, construction began in March 2019 to replace the tracks, upgrade the depot, refurbish some trains in-house, and bring in four new trains. “We kind of put Band-Aids on it over the years. “The initial thought was we would do some heavy maintenance between October 2017 and May of 2018,” Johnston says. The nine-mile railway has taken guests to the top of Pikes Peak since 1891 and was in need of heavy maintenance, says Ted Johnston, assistant general manager at the Cog Railway. Massive investments in the Pikes Peak Cog Railway and the new Summit Visitors Center reaffirm the mountain’s status as one of the world’s can’t-miss attractions. After nearly two years of construction, the Broadmoor Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway plans to reopen May 1.

Pikes peak cog railroad