Dear Governor Polis,
The Front Range Passenger Rail (FRPR) project focuses on introducing intercity passenger rail between Fort Collins and Pueblo.
People working on this project have produced slick reports showing blurred images of trains, indicating high speed. They have also blurred the truth in the reports regarding how fast the trains will go.
A report in 2020 shows that northbound trains would travel from Denver Union Station (DUS) to Boulder in 28 minutes for an average speed of 59 miles per hour.
A report in 2023 shows that the “base travel time” between Longmont and Fort Collins would be 25 minutes for an average speed between the two cities of 79 miles per hour.
The Service Development Plan prepared in March 2025 recommends an alternative described as “10 Roundtrips (between Pueblo and Fort Collins) at 79 MPH.” The study shows a northbound train would take 1 hour 13 minutes to travel from DUS to Fort Collins for an average speed of 59.6 miles per hour. These times represent, according to the author, a “golden run.” I could not find the definition of ‘golden run’ on the internet.
A travel time of 1 hour and 13 minutes, by train, from Denver to Fort Collins is blurring the truth and is not being honest.
Let’s step back and look at some actual operating information for passenger trains in Colorado.
RTD’s light rail trains can travel up to 55 miles per hour. RTD’s “W” line train from DUS to Jeffco Gov’t Center makes the 12.1 mile journey at an average speed of 17 miles per hour.
RTD’s commuter rail lines use equipment that theoretically can reach speeds of 79 miles per hour.
RTD’s “A” Line travels from DUS to Denver International Airport, a distance of 23.6 miles, at an average speed of 38 miles per hour. The track visible from Pena Blvd was specifically constructed for the “A” line and has no at-grade highway crossings.
RTD’s “N” Line travels from DUS to Eastlake - 124th Ave, a distance of 13 miles, at an average speed of 26 miles per hour.
RTD’s “G” Line travels from DUS to Wheat Ridge (Ward Road), a distance of 11.2 miles, at an average speed of 25 miles per hour.
RTD’s “B” Line, which is on the DUS to Fort Collins route, travels from DUS to Westminster, a distance of 5.7 miles, in 15 minutes, at an average speed of only 23 miles per hour.
Until the late 1960’s, the Burlington Northern Railway operated passenger trains between Denver and Billings, Montana. The train traveled through Boulder, Longmont and Fort Collins. Between DUS and Fort Collins the northbound train was scheduled to take 2 hours 41 minutes and the southbound train 2 hours 12 minutes. Using an average of these times, the average speed between the two cities was 29.6 miles per hour. The schedule is shown in Figure 1.
For a given rail line, how do train speeds for current operation compare to those from 60 years ago? In Colorado, for one route for which information is available, trains today are slower.
The Rio Grande Railroad operated the California Zephyr between Denver and Glenwood Springs (and beyond) in the mid 1960’s. The westbound train was scheduled to take 5 hours 25 minutes to travel the 185 miles between the two cities for an average speed of 34 miles per hour. Today, Amtrak’s westbound train takes 5 hours 50 minutes for an average speed of 32 miles per hour.
There are about 90 at grade crossings (where the train tracks cross a road) between Denver and Fort Collins. Sadly, 2,252 highway-rail grade crossing collisions occurred in 2024 in the United States according to the Federal Railroad Administration and Operation Lifesaver. There is a tradeoff between maximizing train speeds and minimizing collisions.
How fast would a train actually take to travel between DUS and Fort Collins? Suggesting average speeds of about 60 miles per hour between DUS and Fort Collins, as the March 2025 Service Development Plan has done, is ludicrous.
The Burlington Passenger train in the 1960’s made stops in Broomfield and Louisville (if there were passengers), Boulder, Longmont, Berthoud, and Loveland. Any passenger service developed to service the DUS to Fort Collins route would likely stop at these and other locations. Each station stop increases travel time due to the deceleration, dwell time at the station stop, and acceleration up to cruising speed.
Most of RTD’s commuter train lines in the Denver area, using equipment capable of traveling 79 miles per hour, have average speeds of about 25 miles per hour.
The average speed along the Burlington Route between Denver and Fort Collins was 29.6 miles per hour in the mid 1960’s. This would be an appropriate average train speed to use in judging the efficacy of the Denver to Fort Collins train. Travel time between Denver and Fort Collins would be about 2 hours 25 minutes.
You might be thinking, “Why are trains not faster today than in the 1960’s”? Trains along the Denver to Fort Collins route could go faster if curves were eliminated, the line was double tracked so that trains could pass one another without having to wait on a siding, freight trains were prohibited on the route, and if bridges were built at all road crossings to avoid dangerous train versus motor vehicle collisions. None of these are currently planned in any significant way.
Highway distance from DUS to downtown Fort Collins is 62.9 miles, about 10 miles less than the 72.5-mile train line distance. When checked on May 22, 2025, Google indicated the drive time for a vehicle would be 1 hour 3 minutes.
Public transportation today between the Denver area and Boulder is excellent. RTD operates approximately 99 buses per weekday between DUS, Anschutz Medical Campus, or Denver Airport to Boulder. Buses travel from DUS to the Table Mesa Station in as little as 32 minutes (average speed of 45 miles per hour) and to the downtown Boulder Station in as little as 50 minutes (average speed of 33 miles per hour).
Public transportation is also excellent between Denver and Fort Collins. CDOT’s Bustang North operates 12 buses per weekday between DUS and downtown Fort Collins. The buses use time saving Express Lanes and Mobility Hubs on I-25. Intermediate stops are made at Firestone-Longmont, Berthoud, Centerra-Loveland, and Harmony Transfer Center in Fort Collins. Buses travel from DUS to downtown Fort Collins in 1 hour 20 minutes, about 1 hour faster than the probable train travel time. The average speed between DUS and the Fort Collins Transit Center is 47 miles per hour.
Construction and operation of a passenger train from Denver to Fort Collins would likely result in the elimination of some of the excellent (and fast) bus service that exists today. Long travel times with a Denver to Fort Collins train would result in low ridership. (People having access to a motor vehicle would choose that option to travel).
It would be a disaster to dismantle the excellent service provided by bus, available today, between Denver and Northern Colorado and replace it with a slow moving train.
Senate Bill 21-238 created the Front Range Passenger Rail District whose purpose was to configure a passenger rail system within the Front Range that is “competitive in terms of travel time for comparable trips with other modes of surface transportation.” The current plan fails to meet that requirement of the law.
A slow passenger train from Denver to Fort Collins should not be built.
Sincerely,
Wayne Graham
Denver, Colorado
Sources/References/
FRPR, Alternatives Evaluation Report, Final, December 2020. From Table 11, page 54.
FRPR: Service Development Plan, Route Options Analysis, October 27, 2023. Page 20 provides 25 minute travel time between Longmont and Fort Collins, Distance from Table 11 of 2020 study of 33 miles/25 minutes = 79.2 miles per hour.
FRPR: Service Development Plan, Preliminary Alternatives Analysis Report, March 2025. Table 8 shows DUS to Fort Collins in 1 hr 13 min. Distance from Table 11 of 2020 study of 72.5 miles/73 minutes = 59.6 miles per hour.
RTD Schedules W, A, N, G, B from early June 2025 for average DUS to end of line train speeds. W: 43 minutes. A: 37 minutes. N: 30 minutes. G: 27 minutes. B: 15 minutes.
Burlington Northern: Between DUS and Fort Collins, the northbound train took 2 hours 41 minutes and the southbound train took 2 hours 12 minutes. The average of these two times is 2 hours 27 minutes (equivalent to 147 minutes). Average speed was 72.5 miles/147 minutes = 29.6 miles per hour.
Burlington Northern: Average travel time between DUS and Fort Collins is 72.5 miles (the distance from Table 11 of 2020 study) divided by the average of 2 hours 41 minutes and 2 hours 12 minutes. This equates to: 72.5 miles/146.5 minutes = 29.7 miles per hour.
Rio Grande Time Tables, Issued November 6, 1966, Schedule and distances for California Zephyr.
Amtrak Schedule (online) between Denver and Glenwood Springs accessed June 2, 2025.
At-grade crossings from analysis of street view and satellite view from Google Maps. Operation Lifesaver (oli.org)
Number of buses from Denver area to Boulder from RTD schedules FF and AB1/AB2 from early June 2025.
DUS to Table Mesa is 24 miles based on Google; 24 miles/32 minutes = 45 miles per hour.
DUS to Boulder Bus Station, 1800 14th St. is 27.6 miles based on Google; 27.6 miles/50 minutes = 33.1 miles per hour.
Bustang information from ridebustang.com website, June 2, 2025.
DUS to F.C. Downtown Transit Center is 62.9 miles based on Google; 62.9 miles/1.33 hour = 47.3 miles per hour.
