Colorado Gov. Jared Polis announced during a press briefing last week that the state has agreed with Union Pacific Railroad for a 25-year lease and a Memorandum of Understanding for the Moffat Tunnel.
The lease and access agreement, scheduled to be signed on May 1, will enable the state to use Union Pacific’s tracks to develop a state-sponsored Mountain Rail passenger service. The proposed expanded passenger rail would extend beyond the current end of the line in Grand County and open up potential stops as far away as Steamboat Springs.
Gilpin County Commissioner Sandy Hollingsworth, whose district includes the eastern end of the 6.2-mile Moffat Tunnel, said the new agreement keeps the possibility for a rail stop to be developed around Rollinsville. Hollingsworth told the Weekly Register-Call, “Yes, Rollinsville is still a potential future stop. I’m attending the periodic meetings, which will resume quarterly in 2025. The possibilities are economic development, commuter and recreation transport from Denver with stops along the way as far as Steamboat. The Hayden area is a coal transition community with possibilities for new businesses and freight trains.
For Gilpin, it could enhance economic opportunities, including increasing Eldora skiers, reducing single car travel, increasing shuttles for visitors, and more patrons of local small businesses.”
During the past few years, Hollingsworth, BoCC Chair Susan Berumen and County Manager Ray Rears have attended several Colorado Mountain Rail Coalition meetings, hoping to provide input and promote a potential rail stop near Rollinsville.
In December, officials from the neighboring community of Nederland, Boulder County, expressed interest in building business partnerships and contacted Polis about the possibility of state funding to help acquire the Eldora Mountain ski area. However, critics say the hopes for Nederland, a town of about 1,500, is a “moonshot” regarding its hopes to purchase Eldora for at least $105 million.
The small ski resort is about five miles west of Nederland and 8.6 miles from Rollinsville. Gilpin officials hope a train stop in Rollinsville would help bolster local business and provide transportation from the station to Eldora.
Gilpin’s representatives have emphasized a new Rollinsville rail stop could help ignite positive regional benefits for people and businesses and potential development for the area. The county also plans to study infrastructure needs and address possibilities during a $250,000 study slated to get underway during the new year.
During his remarks on the new lease, Polis said, “Today marks a major milestone in negotiations between the State of Colorado and Union Pacific for a new modern 25-year lease of the Moffat Tunnel and a 25-year access agreement. This is a big step forward in making Mountain Rail from Denver to Craig a reality. Passenger Rail on this corridor will relieve traffic to one of Colorado’s iconic mountain communities and provide safe, reliable, affordable transportation options for tourists and skiers as well as workers traveling along the corridor. This historic agreement is an important step to
protect continuous freight operations and finally deliver on the promise of passenger rail to Coloradans, and I thank Union Pacific for its partnership,” said Polis.
The 100-year-old Moffat Tunnel cuts through the Continental Divide at 9,239 feet above sea level. Created to provide a crucial east-to-west connection from Denver to the West coast for commerce, the Moffat Tunnel helped Denver become a center of commerce and growth in the Rockies.
Today, in addition to its storied history, the Moffat Tunnel represents a lynchpin of the Mountain Rail Project to connect Coloradans and visitors from Denver Union Station through Rollinsville to Winter Park, Granby, Steamboat Springs, Craig, and Hayden.
“Colorado built the Moffat Tunnel almost 100 years ago to connect people and freight on the West Slope and Front Range. Through this Agreement, we are making sure the Moffat Tunnel moves passengers and goods into the future. We need alternatives to I-70 and the high mountain passes, and [the] Moffat Tunnel and Union Pacific’s line provides that whether you’re traveling with kids or freight,” said John Putnam, the Governor’s chief negotiator for Moffat Tunnel.
The tunnel was named after Colorado railroad pioneer David Moffat, who tried to raise funds to build the tunnel before he died in 1911. However, various government leaders in Denver and others were able to finance the construction of the tunnel, which opened in February 1928.
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