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Library
Review materials, past and present, in our resources library.
Informational Materials
Advocacy Guide (August 2023)
Overview Presentation (Updated July 2025)
District Fact Sheet (Updated April 2025)
Grant Applications
In March 2024, FRPR District, alongside the City of Colorado Springs, the City of Pueblo, the City of Trinidad and CDOT jointly applied for a $10 million U.S. Department of Transportation RAISE grant. This application seeks funding to advance planning and initial design for passenger rail stations in Trinidad, Pueblo and Colorado Springs.
In December 2023, the Federal Railroad Administration accepted the Front Range Passenger Rail District into the Corridor ID Program on step 2.
The Southwest Chief & Front Range Passenger Rail Commission was awarded $548,000 from the Federal Railroad Administration to complete a Service Development Plan from Pueblo to Fort Collins. Local partners, including CDOT, the Rail Commission, ColoRail, the City and County of Pueblo and the City of Trinidad provided $3,377,000 in matching funds.
Past Studies and Reports
This report documents the history of the Southwest Chief & Front Range Passenger Rail Commission and lays the foundation for the transition to the Front Range Passenger Rail District.
Front Range Passenger Rail Alternatives Analysis (2020)
In 2020, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the Southwest Chief & Front Range Passenger Rail Commission (predecessor to the current Front Range Passenger Rail District) completed an Alternatives Analysis that evaluated corridors for passenger rail service to the Front Range's major population centers, considered governance options and conducted stakeholder outreach. The Alternatives Analysis showed that FRPR is technically feasible and can be implemented using existing transportation corridors. It also demonstrated strong public support for FRPR.​​
The Alternatives Analysis recommended a system whereby passenger trains operate on shared track with freight operations, which would decrease the initial investment capital needed to implement FRPR service. In conjunction with this effort, CDOT and metropolitan planning organizations along the Front Range incorporated FRPR into their planning documents and the Southwest Chief & Front Range Passenger Rail Commission secured a grant from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to develop a formal Service Development Plan (SDP).
Southwest Chief Thru-Car Service Study
The Southwest Chief & Front Range Passenger Rail Commission and CDOT received a federal grant to study the feasibility of adding passenger rail service between Colorado Springs, Pueblo, and the existing Amtrak Southwest Chief station in La Junta. The Southwest Chief Thru-Car Service Study was a project aimed at understanding a range of potential service options for passenger rail in southwest Colorado. The study explored various alternatives, including operational strategies and capital investments—changes to physical infrastructure—needed to support expanded service. This passenger rail service would have offered direct connections—or thru-car service—between the cities of La Junta, Pueblo, and Colorado Springs, linking these communities with Amtrak’s existing Southwest Chief service, which operates between Chicago and Los Angeles.
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To learn more, visit the Southwest Chief Thru-Car Service Study Website. ​