The discussion about an inter-city passenger train service along Colorado’s Front Range goes back to at least the 1970s, and now that vision could be only a decade away, according to Andy Karsian, general manager of the Front Range Passenger Rail District.
On Monday, he appeared before the Loveland Transportation Advisory Board to update members on planning for the ambitious project and how the stars have aligned to move it further ahead than ever before.
“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Karsian said. “We know that finding funding for infrastructure and transportation projects in Colorado is all about timing. Now a district has been created, we’ve got state support,” and there are billions of dollars in federal grants available thanks to 2021 legislation, he said.
The proposed Front Range Passenger Rail will stretch between Pueblo and Fort Collins, with stops along the way in Colorado Springs, Castle Rock, Denver, Boulder, Longmont and Loveland. Eventually, Karsian said, planners would like to see it extended from Cheyenne to New Mexico.
The passenger trains will make use of available track owned by freight rail companies Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) and Union Pacific, Karsian explained, in an effort to be as “efficient” as possible and keep costs as low as possible.
He also said that cities along the route will be responsible for building their own railway stations for stops.
The quasi-governmental rail district was formed by the Colorado General Assembly in 2021, and will oversee financing, construction and operation of the service. If approved by Colorado voters in a future election, the district will have the authority to levy a tax that will help fund the line.
The district is governed by a 17-member board of directors composed of representatives from local governments along the route plus state officials. Representatives from the railroads, Denver’s Regional Transportation District (RTD) and the states of New Mexico and Wyoming are non-voting members of the board.
Though the district is new, Karsian explained that studies and analysis for Front Range rail has been underway by state transportation planners seriously since 2010. Along the way, the group completed feasibility studies, preliminary designs and cleared several hurdles that have helped the district skip a few steps in the federal granting process.
Still, even if everything goes according to plan, he said, the first riders on the Front Range Passenger Rail won’t be embarking for at least five, but probably closer to 10 years. That also assumes that voters give the district the ability to collect taxes, which Karsian called the biggest “caveat” in the conversation.
“All of this is dependent upon the future blessing of taxpayers in the district to make this a reality,” he said. “That has to happen in order for Front Range Passenger Rail to succeed.”
As of yet, there are no firm dates for such an election, as much of the details and logistics are still being considered. However, Karsian said the district will continue to engage with stakeholders in 2024 and is working with the Colorado General Assembly for more permanent state funding.
With details so scant, there is no word yet on where Loveland’s station might be built, though city public works director Mark Jackson said that an interdepartmental team of city staff is considering several options.
