The plan requires an agreement with BNSF, which owns the tracks, and Amtrak, which will likely operate the service.
Colorado officials took a major step toward launching passenger train service between Denver and Fort Collins, reports Chase Woodruff in Colorado Newsline.
State officials announced a "joint service" plan between the Regional Transportation District and the Front Range Passenger Rail District on tracks owned by BNSF, a freight company.
According to Woodruff, "RTD and the state, through the Colorado Transportation Investment Office, would split the estimated $333 million in one-time capital costs required to launch the service, as well as the roughly $30 million in annual operating costs." The BNSF-owned rails require infrastructure upgrades and stations that are not currently necessary for freight operations.
Officials will begin negotiations with Amtrak over operating costs later this year, and service could start as early as 2029.
Read the full story: Colorado reaches agreement with BNSF for Denver-Fort Collins passenger trains
Colorado Officials Plan Denver-Fort Collins Rail Service by 2029
About $40 million a year in state funding from new transportation fees could be the key to getting a short passenger rail line from Denver to Fort Collins up and running in the next four years, Colorado officials said last week.
Amtrak unveils proposal to restructure, split into 3 divisions
Agency officials say the new structure would offer more transparency and accountability.
California rail builders sign MOU advancing statewide high-speed network
The agreement aims to create an interconnected high-speed rail network and bring down the cost of construction.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion
Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.
Post election, Texas is no longer Musk’s 'AI oasis'
Elon Musk dolled out $446 million on the 2026 midterms, the most ever spent by a non-canidate.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority