Have you ever wondered what it would take to get a passenger train running from Fort Collins to Denver? On this episode of Dear Fort Collins, Nick Armstrong is joined by James Flattum, Associate Director of Communications and Strategic Directives for the Front Range Passenger Rail District, and Tricia Canonico, FRPRD board member and former Fort Collins City Councilmember, to talk about Coco — the Colorado Connector — a 190-mile intercity passenger rail system running from Fort Collins through Boulder and Denver down to Colorado Springs and Pueblo.
We get into how the first phase came in at $332 million instead of the billion-dollar estimate by partnering directly with BNSF, why the station is going at College and Drake instead of Old Town, what $82.5 million in “local return” dollars over 25 years could mean for that corridor, how the train stacks up against Bustang on comfort and ADA accessibility, and what three trains a day in 2029 grows into. Since we recorded, the district’s board voted to send a 0.333% sales tax question to voters this November — so this conversation is a good primer before you fill out your ballot.
Learn more and read the delivery plan at ColoradoConnector.com/plan.
If you’re curious about how something in Fort Collins works, ask! Send an email to: Nick@DearFortCollins.com and we may feature your show idea in an upcoming episode!
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