Front Range Passenger Rail’s Board of Directors on Friday gave the green light to a plan to launch daily intercity trains between Denver and Fort Collins in 2029, with stops in six cities along the way.
The board unanimously approved the 80-page delivery plan that details how the district, with funding from the Colorado Department of Transportation, Regional Transportation District and a potential future sales tax, could connect 13 cities along the Front Range by train and eventually grow to 10 daily trips.
Under the plan, the rail district will start running three daily trips between Denver and Fort Collins, with stops in Westminster, Broomfield, Louisville, Boulder, Longmont and Loveland in the next three years.
The first phase requires no new taxes and is funded by the Regional Transportation District — fulfilling the long-delayed FasTracks connection between Boulder and Denver — and the Colorado Department of Transportation.
Design work for the first phase is underway, and a vote on construction will come before the rail district and RTD by the end of the year, Front Range Passenger Rail General Manager Sal Pace said.
Approving the delivery plan is the first of several steps required for the Front Range Passenger Rail District to ask voters for a sales tax that will fund expanded service, including twice daily trains connecting Denver, Littleton, Sterling Ranch, northern Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs and Pueblo; and adding another daily trip to Fort Collins.
“This puts us one step closer to referring the ballot issue and one step closer to Colorado Connector rail service across the Front Range,” Pace said.
The board is scheduled to vote on referring the measure to the ballot at a public meeting in Pueblo next month.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
