Funding has now been secured for a feasibility study that could lead to the creation of a long-awaited rail system in Colorado’s Front Range.
The Colorado Department of Transportation has announced that, with the additional backing of the Colorado Transportation Commission, some $3.9 million is tagged to pay for that study.
As proposed, the rail line would run for just under 175 miles linking Fort Collins to the north with Pueblo in the south.
The system would additionally include stops at Denver and Colorado, as well as several other cities.
State officials have touted the new transit line because, running through the eastern half of the Centennial State, it would also be serving the fastest-growing section of Colorado, an area expected to see a 34% increase in its population by 2040.
The system, which would probably be operated by the railroad passenger service Amtrak in a partnership with the Colorado Department of Transportation, could cost as much as $2.8 billion to build.
The idea behind the officially named Corridor Development Study will be to provide a projection of the likely number of riders the transit line would serve, while also trying to pinpoint sources of funding for it.
An exact timeline for when the study will begin has not been announced, but sources expect the effort to be underway by the end of this year.
By Garry Boulard
