The plan to build a passenger rail system from Pueblo to Fort Collins that might cost $6 billion to $12 billion was touted at an event announcing the acceptance of the Front Range Passenger Rail District into President Joe Biden’s nationwide rail network plan.

The acceptance of the project into the Federal Railroad Administration’s Corridor Identification and Development Program comes along with a $500,000 grant from the FRA to help fund the second stage of the project.

“The Biden Administration’s recognition of Colorado as part of the corridor identification and development program is a very important step to turn all of this hard work and planning and vision into front range rail that’s convenient, low cost and fast from Fort Collins to Pueblo for our residents and for visitors to improve the quality of life in our state,” said Gov. Jared Polis.

Next comes trying to pin down the actual costs of the project.

“This program establishes the front range passenger rail corridor as one of the potential corridors to be developed in the country,” said Andy Karsian, general manager of the Front Range Passenger Rail District. “As you’ve heard, we are positioned very well. There are three steps to this corridor ID program. We have been accepted into step two, which means that we have done the work necessary in order to be ahead of most of the rest of the country.”

“In step two, we’re going to be quantifying and listing what those corridor capital needs are, working with our host railroads, establishing who our operators will be and making those concrete decisions on what is necessary in order to realize passenger rail service here in the state,” said Karsian.

Amit Bose, administrator for the U.S Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration, told the Denver Gazette in an interview that the projected costs are hard to estimate, but said they might come in around $7 billion.

Costs as high as $6 billion to $12 billion were suggested by El Paso County Commissioner Stan VanderWerf in May 2021, shortly before Polis signed Senate Bill 21-238 that created a special taxing district to pay for the railroad stretching from the Wyoming border to New Mexico.

The event, held at downtown Denver’s History Colorado museum Wednesday, was hosted by Polis and the Front Range Passenger Rail District.

Speakers included Polis, Karsian, Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade, Colorado Department of Transportation Executive Shoshanna Lew and Federal Railroad Administration Administrator Amit Bose.