Drug Dealers & Delays

June 16, 2022

My train from Denver was supposed to leave at 7:10pm, but kept getting delayed throughout the afternoon. At 9pm I went to the station anyway, as sitting around at home was driving me nuts.

Denver’s Union Station is architecturally beautiful, combining the old station building with modern design. However the experience doesn’t measure up. I’ve heard it’s not all that safe at night, and sure enough, there were tons of homeless people and what looked like drug dealers everywhere. Every so often a gaggle of police officers would sweep through, and the people just hanging around would vanish before slowly drifting back in. It seems like a dance that goes on every night.

The stark contrast between the have-nots and all the swanky apartments and hotels that surround the station is a bit jarring.

I have to say the signage is lacking as well. I wandered around trying to find the Amtrak ticket office before I saw a couple of people waiting on a bench under an Amtrak sign. The ticket office is inside a converted hotel on one side of the tracks. I found it, checked my bike in, and waited.

This is the “Great Hall” where people wait for trains. At least it was air-conditioned, and I got something cold to drink while waiting. Several Amish families were scattered about – I learned last summer that they travel by train quite often.

With almost an hour to go I went back out to the tracks, as it was now cooler. The lines for Amtrak were just beginning to form, and the conductor scanned my ticket.

Finally near 11pm, the train backed into the station. I handed my bike up to the baggage car where they put it in a rack, then headed to my sleeper cabin.

I think I got about 4 hours of sleep, and my brain dutifully had me up by 6:30 so I went to have breakfast.

I was able to get out and walk around in Omaha. Starting 4.5 hours late, the train had made up 1.5 of that overnight. Still, I don’t think I will make my connection in Chicago so I will be on a later train. I had planned to have dinner with friends, but that won’t happen.

Tomorrow should be way more fun!

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