It may be a bit early to make travel plans, but a Front Range passenger train connecting Pueblo with Fort Collins may one day be a reality. A $500,000 federal grant to study the idea was just approved by the Federal Railroad Administration. If the study proves fruitful, Colorado will join millions of travelers in the United States and the world who routinely travel by rail.
The study, among other things, will determine if there is even a Front Range ridership that would sustain the line. But the fact that the state’s population has more than doubled since 1980 with most of the growth along the Front Range, the idea of riding the rails would seem to make sense, especially for drivers who have grown weary of Interstate 25 rush hour gridlock.
While on the surface, a train makes sense even for today’s travelers, it will almost certainly make even more sense as we move deeper into the 21st century. The state’s growth, while already soaring, will continue on this trajectory.
The Colorado Department of Transportation estimates that Colorado will have a population of nearly eight million by 2045. The boom will only exacerbate the strain on roadways, especially I-25 where most of the explosion will be felt.
CDOT estimates that Front Range growth, now inching toward 5 million people, will reach 6.6 million over the next two decades. Larimer and Weld counties are expected to experience a collective growth of 65 percent, from 0.7 mil- lion to 1.2 million people. El Paso County will also be looking at a spike in new residents. Growth estimates for the south- ern Front Range is projected at 39 percent, from 0.7 million to 1.1 million over the same period. Metro Denver will grow from 3.3 million to 4.2 million. Vehicle travel times, said CDOT, will double.
The idea of adding rail to the state’s transporation portfolio won endorsement from Governor Jared Polis. “Front Range passenger rail,” the Governor said of the seed money for the project, “will modernize our transit system, save people money and support jobs and housing across our state.”
Nearly a hundred municipalities applied for funds to study expanded rail services. It’s all part of President Biden’s Infrastructure and Jobs Act legislation which includes billions of dollars dedicated to an enhanced rail system, especially across the West where rail passenger options are limited.
Congressman Joe Neguse (D-Boulder), who has been a strong advocate for more rail options in Colorado helped land the study money, said rail service in Colorado will aid the entire state. “I am excited to see this project become a reality for our growing communities.”
But ten years can be a lifetime when it comes to gaining approval for a project that when begun can soar into hundreds of millions of dollars. And while most of the project will be covered by the federal government, Colorado will be asked to make a significant contribution. The Governor is advocating for a voter-approved sales tax to cover the state’s portion of the project.
Still, even the best crafted study and resulting plan can run directly into a huge stop light, said CDOT consultant, John Putnam, and former federal transportation attorney.
“Even with the folks who do make the cut, that’s not a guarantee that you’ll actually get to the actual construction funding,” he told Colorado Public Radio. “But it’s a critical opportunity.”
Assuming that there is new passenger train service by the middle of the century, do not expect the sudden appearance of anything resembling a bullet train that can whisk riders from Pueblo to Fort Collins in twenty or thirty minutes. If and when any new passenger train becomes a reality, what is more likely to ferry passengers up and down the Front Range will be the same type of trains that serve riders commuting between the large cities on the east coast.
Whatever mode is ultimately selected, said the Governor, will aid in reducing gridlock, take strain off the roadways and improve air quality. At a Lakewood news conference announcing the grant, Polis said, the train will “get you where you want to go faster, going 70, 80, perhaps 90 miles per hour in certain stretches.”
Most Coloradans were not yet even born when the state last had regularly scheduled train service in the early 1970’s. Back then, the state’s population was only a third, 2.2 million, of its current total of nearly 6 million.
