Colorado electeds hope passenger rail from Denver to Craig can save coal country

“This would be for folks who work in Steamboat but want to live or need to live outside of Steamboat because of housing costs,” said Roberts, who anticipates the trains will largely serve commuters between Craig, Hayden and Steamboat Springs. 

“This is an alternative to driving on US Highway 40 that they can take to work every day,” Roberts said.

The Colorado Department of Transportation is conducting a service development plan and will put the passenger rail option up for a bid.

Lukens and Roberts said there is no exact timeline to when passenger rail could be up and running, but they are hopeful for 2026 or 2027.

“When you’re looking at diversifying the economy and supporting the [coal] transition, you have to think about the assets you already have and one of the assets we have is we already have existing rail lines,” Lukens said.

The train tracks running from Denver to Craig with stops around Routt, Moffat and Grand Counties were built in 1908 to carry livestock. Union Pacific Trains still use the tracks for freight.

Routt County Commissioner Sonja Macys said hundreds of commuters trek east from Craig every day to their jobs in Steamboat, a ski town and economic hub of northwest Colorado. 

Thousands flocked to Colorado’s mountain towns during the COVID-19 pandemic as more jobs transitioned to remote work. A report published by the Colorado Association of Ski Towns and Northwest Colorado Council of Governments said the population pandemic spikes resulted in increasing housing costs and traffic along one- and two-lane mountain highways.

“Just getting gas cars off the road is consistent with the governor’s goals and the greenhouse gas-reduction program and also our county Climate Action Plan,” Macys said. 

“Even if we start off with a fraction of the eventual usage, I think we’ll see the benefits pretty quickly.”

A Colorado State Patrol spokesperson requested Rocky Mountain PBS file an open-records request asking how many car crashes have occurred on Highway 40 in the last year. Colorado State Patrol did not fulfill the request by the publishing of this story.

Routt County Sheriff Doug Sherar said his office does not respond to most crashes on the road, as it is a state-run highway, but the road “can be very dangerous, especially in the winter and with untrained drivers who aren’t used to snow and wildlife.”

Katie Berning, a Hayden, Colorado, resident who bought her home in town in 2018, said she did so without expecting the town to grow as much as it has. 

While Berning supported the town building a new school and community center and supports growth overall, traffic and reckless drivers on her commute to Steamboat “feel like they’ve gotten worse the last few years.”

“It's definitely coming to a head as far as what Highway 40 can hold, as far as traffic goes,” she said. 

Berning used to work nights in Steamboat Springs and has had numerous “close calls” almost hitting deer and elk. 

“It’s so sad but it’s not safe to slam on your breaks and swerve when there’s a line of vehicles behind you,” Berning said. “The idea of a passenger train is awesome for moving bodies up and down the valley.”

Lukens and Roberts are hopeful an eventual passenger rail would move down Highway 40 on existing train tracks, reaching Craig, Hayden, the Yampa Valley Regional Airport, Milner, Steamboat Springs and Steamboat Resort. 

Turning onto Colorado Highway 131, the railway could serve Oak Creek, Phippbsurg and Yampa before continuing into Grand County through Kremmling, Hot Sulphur Springs, Granby, Fraser and Winter Park Resort. 

From there, the train would head back to the Front Range into Rollinsville, Candelas, Arvada and finally stopping at Denver Union Station.

While government officials are focused on helping local commuters get around their neighborhoods, Roberts and Lukens said the train would likely also be enticing for skiers wanting to avoid I-70.

“I-70 ski traffic is horrible,” Lukens said. “If people are trying to get to Winter Park or Steamboat, it’s a nightmare and the train is so much safer.” 

The Winter Park Express, a partnership between Amtrak and Winter Park Resort that runs during the ski season, travels along the route every Friday, Saturday and Sunday between January and March with some “bonus Thursdays.”