A federal judge in Denver has denied a request from Colorail, a rail transit advocacy group, to stop RTD’s construction work at Denver Union Station while the group appeals to have the design study redone.

U.S. District Judge John Kane today declined to issue an order that would have halted work that began this week on the conversion of Denver Union Station into the rail hub for the FasTracks network. At a hearing this morning, the judge denied a motion by the Colorado Rail Passenger Association for a temporary restraining order.

A group of rail transit advocates asked a federal judge on Tuesday to stop FasTracks construction at Denver Union Station until the court can rule in a lawsuit seeking to overturn the environmental approval for the work.

Lakewood Edge reports that Colorado’s most active – and vocal – group of passenger-rail advocates is raising concerns over the federal government’s decision to guarantee more than $300 million in funding for Denver’s Union Station project, saying the money will go to build “a train station without trains.”

Transit advocates might seem like odd opponents of a transit project, but members of Colorail – the Colorado Rail Passenger Association – and their supporters plan to speak out Thursday night against the current design of the FasTracks rail hub at Denver Union Station.

The occasion is a public meeting of the Denver Union Station Project Authority, the entity overseeing the financing and contracts for the redevelopment of the historic station and its environs.

Colorail members say the way the design evolved over the past few years makes the so-called “crown jewel” of RTD’s FasTracks program more like costume jewelry. But RTD and its supporters say the current design is a result of cost constraints, operational issues and consensus building over the course of a lengthy environmental process, and that the issues Colorail raises were discussed and settled. Reversing course would add cost and schedule delay that the FasTracks program cannot absorb.