Why is now the best time to revive these efforts?

A combination of factors and developments signal that NOW is the best time ever to bring this plan back to light:

• Creation of the Camp Hale National Monument in 2022

• Outdoor Recreation’s impact on Colorado is proven: OR jobs in Colorado increased 4.4% to 132,594 jobs in 2023, with those workers earning $8.6 billion, averaging nearly $65,000 a year per outdoor recreation job. A Bureau of Economic Analysis study shows outdoor recreation contributing $17.2 billion to the Colorado economy, accounting for 3.2% of the state’s economic activity.

• Expiry/Renewal of 99 year Moffat Tunnel lease in January of 2025 means the State of Colorado is in once-in-a-lifetime active conversations with corridor owner Union Pacific about Colorado’s rail lines.

Who is supporting this?

In addition to the thousands of Eagle County residents and businesses represented by the VVMTA, The Towns of Minturn, Red Cliff, and Lake County have all indicated support of grant funding exploring this project. The original efforts included wide ranging letters of support from various stakeholders, which can be renewed as the project gains momentum.

Why focus on the 33 mile stretch between Minturn and Leadville vs the 178 mile line?

Several reasons have led us to believe focusing on a smaller segment brings a high chance of success.

• Reducing scope means fewer counties, towns, landholders, and congressional districts involved

• If the rail corridor becomes permanently out of the question, alternate routes may exist through a combination of public and private lands. This route would be much more complicated to build and would not be as direct/accessible. There are segments that include an old narrow gauge rail bed that could serve as a good starting point.

• Completion of the Eagle Valley Trail into Minturn means there is an almost complete paved trail between Frisco and Glenwood Springs that didn’t exist in 1997.

Is this connected with the Supreme Court and the Uinta NEPA hearings?

Representatives from the state of Colorado and local communities headed to the Supreme Court on Dec 10th to give arguements in favor of blocking an oil development rail expansion in Utah on federal lands because of it’s downriver impacts - namely that two trains full of waxy crude oil (think Exxon Valdez spill) would be rolling through the Colorado River and threatening the entire Colorado economy with any spills.

In short, we don’t know how this will play out, but we think it’s important to have an alternate vision to offer for the true benefit of Coloradoans if the spotlight from this case moves to the Tennessee Pass line. We also believe it’s important not to fall for any proposals of freight+traffic over this route - combined service fails to deliver on time/reliability/frequency (that’s why the Winter Park/Denver ski train failed to gain traction until the decrease in coal traffic), and the risk of a spill in the Eagle or Arkansas watersheds would be catastrophic for generations of Coloradoans.

What would Union Pacific stand to gain?

Union Pacific’s significant real estate holdings along this section of the line would stand to increase significantly in value by removing uncertainty around the status of rail use. The sale of 13+ acres furthest from the line for the redevelopment of the Minturn North shows the potential value of these holdings if/when UP decides to sell or update leases. The increase in property values associated with Rails to Trails projects are well documented.

What is the current status of freight and passenger rail on the line?

After years of inactivity, there was a flurry of news and lawsuits surrounding the activation and attempted forced sale of the entire 200+ miles of the Tennessee Pass line for $10 million in the early 2020’s by several parties claiming a UP “monopoly stranglehold” in the state. Visit our resources page for more info, but currently, the line is subject to a 10 year lease executed in 2021 between UP and Colorado Midland, a subsidy of Rio Grande Pacific, which is developing crude oil plans in nearby Utah. As mentioned above, the State of Colorado and local communities have teamed up to prevent this crude from being transported next to the Colorado River, Eagle River, and Arkansas Rivers, watersheds which supply millions with agricultural, industrial, and drinking water.

In short - the railway is in flux, and creating and uniting support of a shovel-ready option that benefits Coloradoans is crucial.

Would this impact future passenger rail use on the corridor?

No! The focus on the Minturn to Leadville segment is deliberate; allowing communities from Dotsero to Vail and Leadville to Canon City to undergo their own public process evaluating any combination of passenger rail , Bus Rapid Transit, rail with trail, or freight rail, pending negotiations with UP and lessees and landowners. Even if passenger traffic from Leadville to Minturn somehow became economically viable or strategically sensical, preserving the corridor through a rail banking agreement would mean that the line could be reactivated if the hundreds of millions of dollars in funding and political and business environment become favorable to that use. Specific to Eagle County, believe that our local regional transit authority, CORE Transit, is the best agency to run the community input and economic feasibility process around any possiblity of using of the corridor down stream from the proposed trail route (Dowd Junction to Dotsero) for multimodal transit.

Would the line have to be abandoned or bought?

No! “Railbanking” was established in 1983 as an amendment to Section 8(d) of the National Trails System Act, is a voluntary agreement between a railroad company and a trail sponsor (such as a trail organization or government agency) to use an out-of-service rail corridor as a trail until a railroad might need the corridor again for rail service. It’s a complicated process with a lot of steps that involves an abandonment filing (one was already done before for the 1996 process), but it has been used to preserve thousands of miles of corridor across the US. The Rails to Trails Conservancy maintains a library of resources and definitions regarding railbanking, we encourage you to visit!

I heard the corridor is of strategic importance?

One barrier to this project in 1996 was the importance of coal transport to and from mines and powerplants in Northern and Western Colorado. In the event of a shut down of the main route through the Moffat Tunnel, Tennessee Pass was seen as an alternative backup route at the time, since the rails were still maintained and active. In the nearly 20 years since then, the coal mines and power plants have shut down, and the line and equipment is in disrepair after years of inactivity. The segment is also no longer designated as part of the Department of Defense’s Strategic Rail Corridor Network (STRACNET).

Why is the VVMTA leading this effort?

In short, because no one else has stepped up yet! However, as a organization representing thousands of trail users, volunteers, and businesses in the Eagle Valley, and with a track record of executing large projects and programs, we have the right blend of experience and connections to bring this plan back to life. Hopefully, with a little momentum and support from our elected officials, the State of Colorado will pick up this project where it left off - they have the resources and authority to get to the finish line.