DALLAS A high-speed rail line along Colorado’s Front Range could carry 13 million passengers a year and would likely cost $9.8 billion, according to estimates by the Colorado Department of Transportation.
The 132-mile route connecting Denver to Fort Collins to the north and Colorado Springs to the south is one of several under consideration for high-speed rail, officials said.
Other routes under consideration include the mountain corridor of Interstate 70 at a cost of $17 billion. A draft report of CDOT's recommendations is expected in December.
The rail concepts included in CDOT’s Interregional Connectivity Study were presented Tuesday at an open house for CDOT’s Division of Transit & Rail in the Denver suburb of Golden.
Work began on the ICS earlier this year, focusing on the area between Fort Collins and Pueblo, including the Denver and Colorado Springs metropolitan areas. Station locations also were identified.
The ICS examined technology currently used in Europe and Asia, travel demand and financing options.
Funding from the federal and local governments would determine how the system might be built, according to David Krutsinger, manager of CDOT's division of transit and rail.
