Colorado clears a $333 million hurdle to bring passenger rail to the Front Range

After more than two decades of waiting, Colorado is finally closer to making passenger rail between Denver and Northern Colorado a reality.

The state has reached a tentative agreement with BNSF Railway that clears one of the biggest hurdles in getting trains running along the Front Range. The deal centers on a one-time payment of around $333 million — about half of what was originally projected — which would allow for three daily round trips connecting Denver’s Union Station all the way up to Fort Collins, with stops in Westminster, Broomfield, Louisville, Boulder, Longmont and Loveland.

Here’s how it would work: riders hop on RTD’s existing B Line to Westminster, then connect to the BNSF line for the rest of the trip north. Annual operating costs are estimated at around $30 million.

Funding would come from RTD’s FasTracks savings account — which currently sits at about $190 million — along with a fee on rental cars and a levy on oil and gas production. No federal dollars are factored into the plan.

Here’s the kicker: Colorado voters actually approved passenger rail service between Denver and Northern Colorado back in 2004. It’s taken 22 years to get to this point.

All the governing boards involved — including RTD, CDOT and the Governor’s office — still need to sign off, with the goal of passing resolutions by the end of April. If everything goes according to plan, officials hope to break ground as early as next year.

This Denver-to-Fort Collins corridor would be just the first phase of a much larger Front Range Passenger Rail project eventually connecting Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Denver and Fort Collins.

For a deeper dive, check out the full story from Colorado Public Radio and The Colorado Sun.