With an eye on expanded mountain rail, the Winter Park Express kicks off its 2025 season
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DENVER — On Thursday morning, the only noise coming from the inside of Union Station’s Great Hall was soft music over speakers and the occasional rattle of suitcase wheels against the tile floors. It was not a bustling scene.
The same cannot be said for Track 5, just behind Union Station. Passengers in fuzzy beanies and neon parkas merrily hoisted their ski and snowboarding gear onto the Winter Park Express as the Amtrak crew prepared for departure.
Volunteers and train staff stowed skis, snowboards and other luggage in the lower cars, their demeanors a mix of summer camp counselors and history museum docents.
“Things are great,” said Christopher Nelson, the conductor of the Winter Park Express. “We have more cars — six cars and a cafe — and [passengers] should just look forward to increased service. We’re hearing, in the future, we’re going to three [trips] a day, so that will be great.”
January 9 marked the beginning of the Winter Park Express’ expanded service. The train, which travels from Union Station to the base of Winter Park Resort, will operate five days a week, Thursday through Monday. The route was previously only available Friday through Sunday.
This year, the train will also take passengers to Fraser, Colorado.
“There are people who think that this train is full of people only going to ski, when in fact it’s full of all sorts of people going up to experience life in the Fraser Valley to have some fun,” said Marc Magliari, a spokesman for Amtrak. “Not everybody is bringing boards and skis with them.”
The new Winter Park Express season kicked off at the same time that Governor Jared Polis and other state officials are working to expand mountain rail service in Colorado.
In December, the state announced that it reached a new agreement with Union Pacific, which owns the tracks from Denver to Craig. In exchange for allowing the state to use its tracks, Union Pacific will no longer pay the state an annual fee to use the 6.2-mile Moffat Tunnel, which passes through the continental divide, according to Sky-Hi News.
“This is a big step forward in making Mountain Rail from Denver to Craig a reality,” Polis said in a Dec. 23 press release.
“We need alternatives to I-70 and the high mountain passes, and Moffat Tunnel and Union Pacific’s line provides that whether you’re traveling with kids or freight,” said John Putnam, the Governor’s chief negotiator for Moffat Tunnel, in the same press release.
Last season, the Winter Park Express served more than 17,300 passengers.
“We’re going to top last year simply because we’re going to be running five days a week for most of the season,” Magliari said.
Mike Holland, a first-time volunteer for the Winter Park Express, said that about 250 people were riding the train Thursday. That included Justin Lemke, who was visiting Colorado from Wisconsin with his wife and son.
“We’re just going up to Winter Park for one day, so this train was a good option since we don’t have to rent a car and drive two hours,” said Lemke, who learned about the Winter Park Express after watching train videos on YouTube with his one-year-old son (children under 2 ride for free).
“I didn’t want the stress of driving,” Lemke said. “I think a day [car] rental would have been over $100, so this is cheaper, too.”
This season, Amtrak also cut prices for the Winter Park Express. One-way fares start at $19. Last season, a roundtrip was $59.
The Winter Park Express dates back to 1940, when Winter Park Resort first opened for skiing. The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad operated the line, initially called the “Ski Train” until 2009.
Amtrak resurrected the route for a one-day-only event in 2015. It was so popular that Amtrak added a second day. The railroad company officially brought the train back in 2017 with the Winter Park Express name.
You can learn more about the Express in this season’s episode of “Colorado Experience: The Ski Train.”
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