Colorado secures grant to improve safety on mountain rail corridors

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has awarded a $44 million grant to the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to improve rail safety, reliability and emergency response along critical mountain rail corridors in central and western Colorado.

The grant funding comes from the FRA Federal State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail initiative. Along with $11 million from Colorado's Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) Cash Fund, the grant will be used to complete CDOT's $55 million Safe, Agile, Fast and Efficient Rail Travel (SAFER Travel) project, Colorado government officials said in a press release.

The SAFER Travel project supports three major safety efforts:

• Installation of rockfall barriers and other stabilization measures along about 2 miles of track through byers Canyon, where rockfall has caused derailments, damaged trains and delays to passenger- and freight-rail service;
• creation of six mobile hazardous material and emergency response caches in East Portal, Winter Part, Hot Sulphur Springs, Steamboat Springs, Dotsero and Parachute; and
• safety analyses at seven railroad crossings and improvements to two priority crossings in Grand County.

Union Pacific Railroad owns and operates the tracks where much of the work will occur. UP worked closely with CDOT to develop the SAFER Travel project, Colorado officials said. Amtrak, which operates the California Zephyr and Winter Park Express passenger lines through the area, provided CDOT with data and context for the grant application. Private passenger-rail operator Canyon Spirit also supported the project.

The SAFER Travel improvements will support all existing passenger and freight services and help prepare the corridor for future mountain rail services. CDOT will work with the FRA and UP to finalize the grant agreement, complete the environmental review and design work, purchase and equip the emergency response caches and begin construction work. All work is expected to be completed in late 2030.