The Winter Park Express finished its first season of expanded service and lower fares, and the changes seemed to have done the train well.
Operated through a joint partnership between Winter Park Resort and Amtrak, the train runs between Denver and the Winter Park-Fraser station during the ski season, stopping at the ski resort along the way. This year, the service was expanded from three days a week to five days a week in January and prices were cut by more than 40%.
The final data from this past winer shows that ridership increased by 153% with a total of 43,919 riders. Trains were 89% full on average and most weekends saw trains at 95% or more capacity.
“Historic ridership increases on the Winter Park Express prove that when Coloradans have more affordable, reliable and safe transportation options to get to the mountains, we flock to it. Thanks to this year’s state investment, more Coloradans than ever skipped the I-70 traffic and took the train to the mountains. Expanding this service and delivering Mountain Rail in this corridor will continue this historic growth, reducing traffic and pollution and saving people time and money.” – Colorado Governor Jared Polis.
In the past the ski train was only available of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. With the extended schedule, passengers could take the train on Thursdays and Mondays as well. The Winter Park Express operates from mid-December through the end of March.
“The Winter Park Express has been a popular way for decades for skiers and snowboarders to easily get to the slopes. As there continues to be more and more pressure on our local roads and highways, the train provides a great alternative for people to get to Winter Park. We’re grateful to CDOT and Amtrak for their continued partnership, helping to make the train more affordable and accessible for everyone.” – Winter Park Resort President Sky Foulkes.
Where passengers previously had only been able to take the train on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, they could now take it on Thursday and Monday as well. The ski train operates from mid-December through the end of March for the winter season.
Colorado and Union Pacific Railroad just signed an agreement allowing UP to continue their operations through the state-owned Moffat Tunnel while permitting the state to operate an expanded passenger rail service on the Union Pacific rails. The Colorado Department of Transportation is currently working to reestablish a passenger rail service from Denver to Craig. Additionally the train service will eventually serve Granby, Steamboat Springs, Hayden, Craig, and further communities.
