Colorado Connector (Front Range Passenger Rail)

Planning

Roughly 190-mile intercity passenger rail corridor along Colorado's Front Range connecting Fort Collins to Pueblo through Denver Union Station, operating on existing BNSF and Union Pacific freight trackage.

Alignment Map

Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Alignment is approximate.

Alignment

The Colorado Connector would run along roughly 190 miles of the Front Range corridor between Fort Collins and Pueblo, using existing BNSF Railway trackage north of Denver and shared Union Pacific/BNSF trackage to the south, with Denver Union Station serving as the central hub. The initial Starter Service phase would connect Fort Collins and Denver with three daily round trips across eight stations, including Loveland, Longmont, Boulder, Louisville, Broomfield, and Westminster. Later phases would extend service south through Littleton and Castle Rock to Colorado Springs and Pueblo, eventually building to up to 10 daily round trips on the northern segment, with new station infrastructure also planned in Trinidad on existing Amtrak trackage. Amtrak is the planned operator once service begins.

Updates

2026-07 — Train designs unveiled

State officials and the FRPR District released exterior and interior renderings of the planned Colorado Connector rolling stock, giving the public its first look at the trains ahead of the targeted 2029 Starter Service launch.

2026-04 — Service named “Colorado Connector” (CoCo)

Governor Jared Polis and the Front Range Passenger Rail District announced “Colorado Connector,” chosen through a public naming contest, as the name for the future Front Range passenger train.

2025-06 — RTD board approves joint operations agreement

The Regional Transportation District board approved an intergovernmental agreement with the FRPR District to jointly deliver the Denver–Fort Collins Starter Service segment.

2024-10 — $66 million federal CRISI grant awarded

The project received a $66 million Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant from the Federal Railroad Administration to advance the Denver–Fort Collins segment.

2023-12 — Accepted into FRA Corridor ID Program

The corridor received an initial $500,000 planning grant after being selected for the Federal Railroad Administration’s Corridor Identification and Development Program.

References