Will the incoming Trump administration impact Colorado鈥檚 mountain passenger rail project?
A service development plan for the project is expected to be completed in the coming months
Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily
As Coloradans digest Election Day and the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, questions are swirling around how the federal change may play out locally.
And for transportation-minded residents, the hope for a passenger rail line connecting Denver to Steamboat Springs is in the mix of concerns.
The project, first outlined by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis’ administration in 2023, would modify the already-existing passenger rail line from Denver to Winter Park, extending it to Steamboat Springs, Hayden and Craig.
There are already existing train tracks spanning the route 鈥� but the section beyond Winter Park is used exclusively for coal freight. A limited passenger train from Denver to Winter Park runs in the winter.
Polis, who also hopes to build a passenger rail line along the Front Range, said in a news conference earlier this month that he’s confident between the state funding, already-awarded federal funds and revenue from passengers, the state “will be able to get there.”
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“No matter what the tides of change are in Washington, we look forward to pursuing every opportunity we can to gain additional funding for our state,” he said.
Senate Bill 184, passed earlier this year, created a $3 per day fee for all rental cars in the state.
The rental car fee was intended to attract federal funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act to help pay for the project, Senate President Steve Fenberg said in March. It’s currently being
Senate Bill 230, another bill passed in 2024, in Colorado funding transit projects and public lands in the state.
While the Trump Administration can attempt to claw back the federal infrastructure funding passed under President Joe Biden, Trump didn’t campaign on the idea and , considering how unpopular the move would be in both blue and red states.
In a statement Wednesday, a spokesperson for Polis said “no decision has been made to federalize the mountain rail project.”
“Whether or not it’s in the interest of the project to federalize it depends on what we learn through the service development plan, financial model and our unique partnership with Union Pacific,” according to the statement.
In an interview, state Sen. Dylan Roberts, D-Frisco, said he’s also aware of the possibility of funding for projects like mountain rail not materializing.
“I hope that the new Congress and the Trump administration realizes that those were bipartisan bills and that they help everybody, whether you’re in a blue state or a red state,” he said. “We rely on support and partnership with the federal government, and I hope that that can continue for some of these big projects.”
A service development plan for the project is expected to be completed in the coming months.
The state is also in ongoing negotiations with Union Pacific regarding the use of the Moffat Tunnel, which allows trains to traverse the Continental Divide.
