.jpg) A long-distanceAmtrak train in Colorado | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Service type | Intercity rail | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Proposed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Locale | Colorado andWyoming | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | www | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Front Range Passenger Rail is a proposedintercitypassenger train service along theFront Range and broaderI-25 corridors inColorado andWyoming. Most proposals envision a route fromPueblo north toColorado Springs,Denver,Boulder, andFort Collins. Extensions north toCheyenne and south toTrinidad,Albuquerque, and evenEl Paso have been discussed.
Front Range communities were historically connected by rail transit until the mid-20th century. A series of studies performed since the early 2000s have shown mounting interest in renewed service. In the 2020s, Colorado created a taxing district to fund a new passenger-rail effort, whileAmtrak included the route in its expansion vision.
As of 2023, theColorado Department of Transportation is working on a service development plan for the core route between Pueblo and Fort Collins. The plan will enable the state to solicit funding from voters and from the federal government.
In the 19th century, theAtchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway andDenver and Rio Grande Western Railroad built lines along the Front Range that are now owned byBNSF andUnion Pacific. Pueblo–Denver passenger service existed until the formation ofAmtrak in 1971.[1] The Denver–Cheyenne segment was last served in 1997 by thePioneer.
In 1989, rail supporters involved in preservingDenver Union Station formed the nonprofit Colorado Rail Passenger Association (ColoRail). The group has regularly advocated for the Front Range route,[2] and in 1997 played a role in startingAmtrak Thruway bus service along the corridor from Denver toRaton.[3]
With the 1998Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, Congress authorized theUS Department of Transportation to designate elevenfederal high-speed rail corridors for targeted development. Ten were listed by the December 2001 funding deadline, though none in the mountain west.[4] In March 2002, theColorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) nevertheless applied for designation of the "Rocky Mountain High Speed Rail Corridor" along I-25 andI-70.[5] The corridor has yet to be designated as of 2024[update].
In December 2004,Colorado State Representative Bob Briggs ofWestminster founded the Front Range Commuter Rail organization. The stated goal of the organization was to startcommuter rail along the Front Range by the time theRegional Transportation District'sFasTracks mass transit started service in 2014. The proposed line was dubbed the "RangerXpress"[6] and received high-profile support from ColoradoSenatorKen Salazar.[7]
In September 2006, the Colorado Transportation Commission approved a $1,246,000 grant for ahigh-speed railfeasibility study on corridors in Colorado, including the Front Range.[8] Although Front Range Commuter Rail had applied for the grant, CDOT required that the money go to a local government body. To this end, several counties and municipalities in Colorado formed the Rocky Mountain Rail Authority (RMRA) that November. The authority eventually grew to 45 members.[9][10] By May 2007, the RMRA had raised over $415,000 in matching funds, exceeding the required 20% match on the CDOT grant. RMRA committed the final $325,000 the following month.
Work on the RMRA study began in June 2008 and it was released in March 2010.[11] It found that the I-25 corridor would meet theFederal Railroad Administration (FRA) criteria for technical and economic feasibility, including positive cost-benefit andfarebox recovery ratios.[12]
In July 2011, the Colorado Secretary of State marked Front Range Commuter Rail as a delinquent organization effective June 1, 2010.[13]
In May 2009,Colorado GovernorBill Ritter signed a bill creating the Division of Transit and Rail (DTR) within CDOT.[14] The division is responsible for developing rail services and administering state and federal rail funds in Colorado.[15] In March 2012, DTR released its first Colorado Freight and Passenger Rail Plan, which was required by thePassenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 in order for Colorado to receive future FRA grants. The plan lists various versions of Front Range service as long-range projects.[16]
In April 2012, CDOT began an Interregional Connectivity Study (ICS) through an FRA grant, building on the 2010 RMRA study. Published in January 2014, the ICS recommended initial high-speed rail service between Fort Collins,Denver International Airport, andBriargate—a neighborhood of northern Colorado Springs—with future expansion to Pueblo. This alignment would bypass Boulder and downtown Denver via a new rail line built along theColorado 470 beltway. The startup cost of the project was estimated at $9.81 billion with annual ridership of 13.6 million.[17]
In July 2015, CDOT began operatingBustang, anintercity bus service with several routes along the Front Range corridor.[18]
In July 2016, theRegional Transportation District (RTD) opened the initial 6.2-mile (10 km) section of theB Line from Denver toWestminster. An unfunded extension to Boulder andLongmont is planned for the 2040s.[19] This commuter rail line overlaps part of the route that later emerged as the favorite for Front Range Passenger Rail.[20]
In spring 2017, Colorado enacted legislation creating the Southwest Chief & Front Range Passenger Rail Commission, effective July 1 of that year. The commission subsumed a body focused solely on supporting the long-distanceSouthwest Chief, taking on the additional task of developing passenger rail on the I-25 corridor. It is composed of representatives from CDOT, RTD, ColoRail, Amtrak, BNSF, Union Pacific, and various Colorado governments.[21][22] In 2018 the General Assembly allocated $2.5 million toward the commission's duties, including development of a Front Range Passenger Rail service plan.[23]
CDOT updated the Colorado Freight and Passenger Rail Plan in 2018, naming Front Range Passenger Rail a "priority objective" and "Colorado's most immediate opportunity to improve and expand rail mobility." The Division of Transit and Rail committed to advancing the project.[24]
In December 2020, the Rail Commission published an "Alternatives Analysis" that identified three feasible routes for the Pueblo–Fort Collins segment of Front Range service. The alternatives consisted of nine initial stations, 18 to 24 round trips per day, speeds up to 110 miles per hour (180 km/h), and end-to-end travel times of 2.5 to 3 hours. Annual ridership was estimated at 2.2 million and startup costs at $7.8 to $14.5 billion.[25][26]
In spring 2021, Amtrak included the Front Range route in its 2035 expansion vision.[27] As envisioned, the service would consist of three daily round trips between Pueblo and Fort Collins with one extending to Cheyenne. The end-to-end trip time would be 5 hours 34 minutes and the route would have an annual economic impact of $103 million.[28] This would be a state-supported Amtrak route similar toIllinois Service orNC By Train, meaning Colorado and Wyoming would shoulder much of the operating cost.[29]
In June 2021, Colorado GovernorJared Polis signed a bill creating the Front Range Passenger Rail District in a ceremony atPueblo Union Depot. The district spans nine counties of the I-25 corridor in Colorado.[30] It is overseen by a board of stakeholders similar to those of the Southwest Chief & Front Range Passenger Rail Commission, which the district officially replaced on July 1, 2022.[31] The board canask voters to approve a new sales tax up to 0.8% within the district to pay for the train service, but only after making every effort to secure federal funding.[32]
In October 2021, the Colorado Transportation Commission approved the final $1.6 million of the $3.9 million needed for new Front Range service studies. The FRA had already awarded a $685,000 grant and the rest came from the Rail Commission. The studies were to take about two years and result in a workable service plan that the Rail District can use to secure funding. The project would still need separateenvironmental review.[33]
In November 2021,Congress passedPresident Biden'sInfrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which allocates $215 million to public transportation in Colorado, $66 billion to Amtrak, and tens of billions to competitive transportation grant programs.[34] Advocates considered Front Range Passenger Rail well-positioned to benefit from these funds.[35] In May 2022, the FRA launched theCorridor Identification and Development Program as the mechanism for new passenger rail projects to receive funds from the IIJA.[36] Colorado's fourDemocraticHouse members sent a letter toUSDOT and the FRA requesting that Front Range service be funded by the program.[37][38][39] In December 2023, the Fort Collins–Pueblo route was accepted into the Corridor ID program and was granted $500,000 toward development.[40][41]
In June 2022, Colorado allocated nearly $9 million in "early stage Front Range Passenger Rail funding":[42] $2.4 million to the rail district, providing matching dollars for federal contributions; and $6.5 million to the Burnhamrail yard redevelopment project in Denver. The move was intended to help make Colorado competitive for federal IIJA funding.[43]
In September 2023, Polis was pushing to put a funding measure for Front Range service on the ballot as soon as November 2024. Planners were working on a service development plan which will finalize the proposed route, station stops, and frequency, while estimating timeline and cost.[44]
In May 2024, Governor Polis signed SB24-184, a transportation funding bill that ordered the Rail District to submit a report by March 2025 that outlines a plan to begin passenger service by January 1, 2029. The law also authorized the Rail District, RTD, and CDOT to enter into an intergovernmental agreement to provide joint service on the "first phase" of Front Range service, which would run from Denver north to Fort Collins.[45] Further, the law included a $3 per day increase in rental car fees to help provide matching dollars for federal rail funding without increasing taxes.[46]
In October 2024, the FRA granted Colorado $66 million as part of a Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant to CDOT to upgrade the BNSF trackage between Westminster and Broomfield, Colorado, by addingPositive Train Control (PTC), improving the track, and adding a siding. The money also will improve five "high priority" crossings in Larimer and Boulder counties. The state of Colorado provided $27 million to match the grant.[47] While this is a general rail safety upgrade, this is widely expected to help lay the groundwork for Front Range Passenger Rail with Governor Polis saying the grant will "accelerate the timeline".[48]
In April 2025, U.S. RepresentativeLauren Boebert asked theDepartment of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to reevaluate federal funding from the rail project, purporting it to be a waste of tax money that infringed on landowners' rights and operated with a lack of transparency. Polis' office released a statement debunking Boebert's claims, saying that the federal government has provided less than $2 million to the project and adding that his office did not expect any federal funds to be used.[49]
In June 2025, the RTD board approved the joint service intergovernmental agreement to work with the Rail District in providing passenger service between Denver and Fort Collins.[50]
In 2003,New Mexico GovernorBill Richardson announced plans for theRail Runner Express, a commuter train betweenBelen,Albuquerque, andSanta Fe. To ensure passenger trains would have priority over freight, the state signed a $76 million agreement with BNSF in December 2005 to buy the line between Belen andLamy. As part of the deal, BNSF insisted that the state also buy the line from Lamy to Trinidad, Colorado, that hosts theSouthwest Chief and has been included in some plans for Front Range Passenger Rail expansion.[51] GovernorSusana Martinez cancelled the purchase of this part of the line in March 2016.[52]
TheAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 appropriated new funding for high-speed rail projects, renewing interest a possible "Rocky Mountain High Speed Rail Corridor". Colorado,New Mexico, andTexas sought designation for the Denver–Albuquerque–El Paso section of the I-25 corridor. In July 2009, in hopes of conducting a feasibility study, the states applied for $5 million in funds made available by thePassenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008.[53][54] No study materialized.
In February 2024, along-distance route between El Paso andBillings via Denver was proposed by the Federal Railroad Administration as part of theLong-Distance Service Study.[55]
