Eagle County Rail Debate: Tennessee Pass vs. Moffat Line

Colorado’s passenger rail future is splitting down the middle, and the Western Slope is caught in the crossfire.

While Front Range voters settled on the name "CoCo" for their proposed 13-county rail corridor, two competing groups are fighting over which tracks will actually carry people through Eagle County. One side wants to resurrect a dormant line that hasn’t seen a train since 1997. The other wants to piggyback on active tracks that already run Amtrak’s California Zephyr.

It’s not exactly a unified vision.

The Front Range Passenger Rail District announced Monday that nearly 26,000 people voted to call their Fort Collins-to-Pueblo line "CoCo." It’s short for Colorado Connector. It’s better than Front Range Passenger Rail. The 0.5% sales tax to fund it might hit the ballot this year. But for folks in Eagle County, the name doesn’t matter as much as the route.

The Western Rail Coalition is pushing hard for the state to study the Tennessee Pass Rail Line. That’s the Union Pacific-owned track that bisects Eagle County. Their idea is a lightweight, Euro-style train running from Leadville to Glenwood Springs. The catch? No trains have run on those tracks since 1997. Reviving the line for everyday use would cost a bundle.

Then there’s ColoRail. They’re looking at the Moffat Line. That’s the active track cutting through northwest Eagle County. It already carries Amtrak’s daily California Zephyr and the seasonal Rocky Mountaineer. ColoRail wants a daily train between Denver and Grand Junction with local stops.

"That line is flat. It’s OK," ColoRail President Jack Wheeler said of the Dotsero to Avon segment of the Tennessee Pass Line, or even on to Mintur. "But beyond that the turn up to Leadville is a non-starter because it’s so much money."

Wheeler isn’t against the Tennessee Pass Line entirely. He just thinks the steep climb to Leadville is too expensive. The Moffat Line connects with the dormant Tennessee Pass Line at Dotsero. That creates a potential synergy with Mountain Rail, the funded partnership expanding the Winter Park Express Ski Train to Granby next season. Mountain Rail ultimately aims to connect Denver to Steamboat Springs, Hayden, and Craig. It passes through northern Eagle County in Bond.

ColoRail is not advocating for reviving the Tennessee Pass Line all the way up. They’re focused on the active infrastructure.

The debate isn’t just about tracks. It’s about where the money goes. The Front Range has its name. It has its sales tax. The region along the I-70 corridor has two competing visions and a lot of uncertainty.

One group wants to dig up the past. The other wants to build on what’s already there.

The Tennessee Pass Line Belden Tunnel sits in Eagle County, waiting for someone to decide if it’s worth the price of admission. David O. Williams captured the scene for the Vail Daily. The tracks are there. The question is who pays to put them back to work.

Locals are watching. They’re wondering if their commute will look like a train ride to Grand Junction or a steep climb to Leadville. Or nothing at all.

The Front Range got a name. The Western Slope got a choice. And neither comes with a price tag yet.