Moving most freight trains that go through the heart of Denver to a bypass route east of the metro area could be worth $5 billion in direct and indirect economic benefits to the region, according to a report that will be issued to Colorado transportation officials next week.
Yet it will cost $1.17 billion to shift the rail lines out of dense urban corridors to the Eastern Plains, and state, local and corporate officials have not yet identified precisely how much the state’s railroads and government entities will pay for the move.
“We have zero dollars right now,” said Colorado Department of Transportation Executive Director Tom Norton as he outlined the rail relocation plan to a University of Denver transportation conference on Wednesday.
Residents of metro Denver will benefit from relocating freight lines because much of the time commuters waste at rail crossings as 100-car coal trains creep through the city can be eliminated, Norton said.
The move of freight trains to the east also could free up track for the Regional Transportation District’s $4.7 billion FasTracks rail expansion and the possible installation of regional commuter rail service between Fort Collins and Pueblo, officials say.
Moving freight lines would yield $2.3 billion in direct public and private benefits and another $2.86 billion in indirect benefits over the years, according to the report.
An earlier draft identified some elements of the direct savings: about $700 million from railroad operating efficiencies; roughly $330 million from reduced auto and truck delays at rail crossings; and more than $200 million in savings attributed to air-quality improvements that would result from the move of freight rail.
Shifting the rail traffic to the east also could help promote development of a “dryland intermodal port” near Adams County’s Front Range Airport where rail, truck and air commerce could all knit together in a unified hub, Norton said.
The Schuck Corp., a Colorado Springs developer, is working to establish such a trade center at Front Range, which sits about 5 miles southeast of Denver International Airport.
In a related move on Wednesday, members of a DIA task force appointed by Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper said they will recommend that DIA and Front Range Airport pursue cargo-handling opportunities on a cooperative basis rather than competing vigorously for the high-value air freight business.
Staff writer Jeffrey Leib can be reached at 303-820-1645 or jleib@denverpost.com.
