It's not currently in President Joe Biden's rail plan but if Amtrak and the Southwest Chief & Front Range Passenger Rail Commission connect the Chief at Pueblo or Trinidad, Colorado to the Empire Builder at Shelby, Montana through Denver and Cheyenne, Wyoming it will intersect the North Coast Hiawatha at Laurel or Billings, Montana and serve the state capital in Helena.
The Front Range Passenger Rail District was created by legislation passed by the General Assembly in 2021, and tasked with “planning, designing, developing, financing, constructing, operating, and maintaining a passenger rail system” along the Interstate 25 corridor. Through a combination of federal grants and appropriations from the state Legislature, rail commissioners and staff at the Colorado Department of Transportation have secured funding for certain preliminary planning work expected to be completed between now and 2024. The Front Range rail proposal has long been identified as a top candidate for federal Amtrak funding. [Passenger rail board’s first meeting begins work on ‘rapidly’ bringing service to Front Range]The New Mexico Rail Runner Express has cut fares, all one-way, day passes and monthly passes by 75% through the end of July as gasoline prices remain high.
Y'all probably know this, but even with Amtrak interest -- and some new federal $ possible in the giant infrastructure law -- a Front Range railway is still a glimmer.
— Jon Murray (@JonMurray) April 15, 2022
The new district, though, will work quickly on putting together a plan, with a capital P, to take to voters.
One takeaway from the board appointees' discussion: they're keenly aware of the fragile politics of getting a railway up and running.
— Jon Murray (@JonMurray) April 22, 2022
"We need to be really, really careful about how we do this -- and we can't go to the voters without a solid plan," Boulder Co's Claire Levy said.
No comments:
Post a Comment