New Train for Colorado: A Primer on Contemporary Passenger Rail Equipment - 1/12/2026

New Train for Colorado: A Primer on Contemporary Passenger Rail Equipment from Greater Denver Transit presented by James Flattum.

The State of Colorado is moving forward with two transformative passenger rail projects, both of which will require new trains and supporting infrastructure. First, the Mountain Rail project plans to build on existing passenger rail service between Denver and Colorado’s Western Slope by expanding access to Winter Park and Granby initially followed by future service to Steamboat Springs and Craig in the Yampa River Valley. The second is the Front Range Passenger Rail (FRPR) project, which will provide a new north/south train service connecting several of Colorado’s highest-population cities from Fort Collins through Denver to Colorado Springs and Pueblo. The first segment of FRPR called “Joint Service” is planned as a partnership between RTD and the State of Colorado to jumpstart long-promised service between Denver, Boulder, and Longmont without raising taxes in order to help reclaim public trust in the State’s ability to deliver rail.

Learn about the key decisions, challenges, and tradeoffs that must be confronted in the lead-up to introducing new train service in Colorado. Enjoy a vision of what the current state-of-the-art equipment looks like that could run in Colorado: specifically what bi-mode equipment is now available from the 3 major rail manufacturers: Alstom, Siemens Mobility, and Stadler that can run on both low-emission diesel AND clean electric power from overhead wires.

Read our research here:
https://www.greaterdenvertransit.com/...