Passenger rail may arrive by 2027 now that a consultant has been picked to study the feasibility of a peak service rail between Denver Union Station and downtown Longmont, Mayor Joan Peck said Wednesday.
“I think in five years we can get this done, we can do this whole darn thing,” Peck said. The timeline is more than feasible with Burlington Northern Santa Fe providing track right-of-way and maintenance and Amtrak getting funding for a northern Colorado service, Peck said.
“I think we can get some forward motion now,” Peck said.
Peck’s optimism is fueled by the Regional Transportation District picking HDR Engineering this week to conduct the $8 million study of the Northwest Rail Line Peak Service. The two-year study aims to provide updated engineering and cost estimates for rail service to northwest metro communities including Broomfield, Louisville, Boulder and Longmont, according to a RTD news release.
Other goals of the study include positioning the project for the possibility of federal funding, planning peak service to allow for future build-out of the Northwest Rail Line, and setting up RTD for potential partnerships with other agencies such as the Front Range Passenger Rail Service and the Colorado Department of Transportation, the news release states.
RTD General Manager and CEO Debra Johnson noted in the news release that residents in the northwest communities have contributed funding to RTD for rail service since the FasTracks project was approved 18 years ago. The rail never came to the northwest communities as RTD struggled with rising costs and other budget problems.
Longmont has contributed $60 million to RTD for FasTracks. Gov. Jared Polis last year urged RTD to complete the rail line to renew public trust in the agency.
“This feasibility study will provide RTD with public input and 2022 data that will enable the agency and interested parties to utilize a common set of facts in determining how best to serve the northern suburbs within the District,” Johnson said.
The plan will examine the use of RTD’s B Line commuter rail alignment, along with the possibility of leasing BNSF Railway right-of-way and tracks to extend service during peak commuting hours from Western Station 35.3 miles north Boulder and Longmont, the RTD news release states.
The peak-hour service plan would offer three morning trips from Longmont to Denver and three evening trips from Denver to Longmont.
The full buildout of the Northwest Rail Line would cost an estimated $1.5 billion and remains the costliest of the unfinished FasTracks projects, the news release states.
