Front Range Passenger Rail
Another TAXPAYER-FUNDED Boondoggle
What is it? Front Range Passenger Rail (FRPR) is a taxpayer-funded passenger rail service project. The wildly ambitious plan is for FRPR to run from the Colorado/New Mexico border to the Colorado/Wyoming border, cooperatively using existing Burlington Northern/Santa Fe and Union Pacific freight rail lines for passenger service. Eight major passenger stops are planned to include Trinidad, Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Castle Rock, Denver, Boulder, Greeley, Fort Collins, and eventually Cheyenne, Wyoming. To date, FRPR representatives have not had any discussion with the Town of Castle Rock.
PowerPoint Presentation (ridethefrontrange.com)
Library | Ride the Front Range
Who is supporting FRPR? Governor Jared Polis, State Democrats, CDOT, U.S. Democrat House Representatives, Amtrak, RTD, DRCOG, City of Trinidad, City of Boulder, developers, and many other stakeholders.
What is the Cost? FRPR’s initial build and ongoing costs are unknown. Some reports estimate costs between $2 billion to $14 billion dollars.
How will it be paid for? How FRPR will be paid for is unclear. U.S. Democrat House Representatives have requested partial funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which has set aside $66 billion for passenger rail projects throughout the U.S. The rest of the cost and FRPR’s ongoing maintenance expenses will be paid for by Colorado taxpayers via the FRPR District. FRPR hasn’t said whether they will ask voters to support funding with property tax, sales tax, or both.
What is the FRPR District? The Colorado Legislature established the FRPR District in 2021; it is a taxing authority. Thirteen Colorado counties – including Douglas County, are already in the District.
About the District | Ride the Front Range
The Taxing District that has already been approved (shaded blue)
Douglas County taxpayers are already de facto members of FRPR’s taxing district!
Is there a need for FRPR? So far, FRPR representatives haven’t produced any studies for Colorado’s Front Range area that would demonstrate an actual need for rail passenger service; instead, they point to Amtrak data models that focus on the U.S. east coast.
FRPR claims that Colorado is facing major problems with traffic congestion, greenhouse gases/air quality/emissions, and hazardous weather driving conditions for commuters. However, these claims come from random news media articles shown in their Power Point presentations.
Has a NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) study been done? Not yet. According to FRPR’s timeline, a NEPA study will be done in 2025.
NEPA Process Overview (transportation.org)
Governor Polis pushing for Front Range Rail vote in 2024 …but what about the NEPA study?
What is the FRPR Timeline? FRPR’s process began a few years ago, including the establishment of the FRPR District in 2021. FRPR plans to have a ballot question for Colorado voters in 2026; however, Governor Polis wants to get FRPR on the 2024 ballot.
Unanswered Questions
Traffic Congestion:
Where is the data to show how many riders on the FRPR it takes to remove enough road drivers to make a measurable difference in the congestion, and at which times per day will this make the difference?
What is the measurable amount of reduced traffic congestion FRPR is seeking?
FRPR hasn’t provided any data to show where a significant reduction in traffic congestion has been achieved in other parts of the U.S. with a similar government-run rail project.
Parking and Secondary Transportation: Will there be adequate parking and secondary transportation available for rail passengers at the planned stops?
Greenhouse Gases/Air Quality/Emissions:
What is the current baseline greenhouse gas data and what it the goal for reduction?
How much greenhouse gas will a fully-utilized FRPR system alleviate, and how do you prove that FRPR is/was the solution for this assumption?
What is the data on the emission of a FRPR system? How are those trains powered?
Hazardous Weather Driving Conditions:
Where is the data to describe how often the weather is too bad to drive to a destination, but not too bad to drive to a FRPR station, and wait for FRPR to board and un-board?
Where is the data to describe what passengers do for secondary transportation to take them to their final destination once leaving the station if the weather is too bad to drive in at all?
Where is the data to explain how and why RTD/Bustang/employer work- from-home options on bad weather days is not working, and how FRPR is a better solution?
More of the Same:
Thanks to the same typical elected government officials and special interests who are now pushing FRPR, Colorado taxpayers have been burdened for years with empty light rail cars and buses, dwindling routes, mechanical issues, and increased criminal activity (on rail cars and buses, and at stations) with Front Range public transportation.
RTD continues to struggle financially and cannot provide sustained functional passenger service.
Can FRPR provide two examples of successful passenger rail service within the U.S. and what guarantees can FRPR provide that its services will be superior to what we’re paying for now?
Reliability and Convenience:
Explain the reliability of the FRPR system when sharing highly-used freight rail systems that run 24 hours a day/seven days a week.
How does FRPR overcome the issue currently at play with the limited use of Amtrak?
What kind of scheduling can the public expect with a shared highly-used freight railway system?
What is the ticket pricing structure?
How does a passenger quantify improved time, cost, or convenience if choosing FRPR over driving their own vehicle?
7. Disconnected Communities: Where is the demographic data that details who will be using passenger rail service enough to justify the unknown and ongoing costs, including where they are going and why, and what they will do once they reach a given stop without available secondary transportation?
8. Service to New Mexico and Wyoming: How does a passenger travel to the rest of these states without a vehicle? What secondary transportation is available?
Service from Pueblo to Denver: How many passengers per day and/or week are interested in utilizing this service with no vehicle at the end of their destination? What other existing options are available?
Public Outreach: Why is FRPF’s public outreach nearly non-existent, other than inviting online comments and signing up for their e-newsletter? Where are the community meetings so that the tax-paying public can ask questions and have a voice?
To provide comment, click here:
Colorado DOT Public Forms (coloradooutreach.com)
To sign up for FRPR’s newsletter, contact info@frprdistrict.com
Passenger Rail VIDEO Presented as FACTS, however MOST if not all of the above questions have not been answered. For example, the truth is, the railroads have not yet APPROVED the use of their rails, but this is presented as if done.
