The district in charge of planning a passenger rail line from Pueblo to Fort Collins said on Friday that it would wait until 2026 to seek voter approval for a sales tax raise. 

Nancy Burke, director of communications and outreach for the Front Range Passenger Rail District, said district board members had been considering between this year and 2026 to introduce funding ballot measures in the 13 counties where the rail line would pass. 

She said the sales tax amount is still under consideration, with different models requiring more and less funding. 

In a statement, the district said it would continue the planning phase of the project for the next two years, including the completion of a Service Development Plan by the Colorado Department of Transportation, before seeking funding from voters. 

“We believe voter support will grow as we continue to demonstrate the strength and rigor of the financial plan, collaborate with local governments for the nine station locations and engage with stakeholders. Going to the ballot in 2026 allows for the necessary time needed to accomplish this,” said Andy Karsian, Front Range Passenger Rail District general manager, in the statement. He said that FRPR already had voter support reflected in polls. 

Burke said continued planning would allow the district to present to voters specifics about the project, like the locations of the nine planned stations and more concrete service modeling showing the number of trains running per day.

It would also allow the district to pursue opportunities opened through two senate bills passed this legislative session. One, SB 184, allocates rental car impact fees to transportation infrastructure maintenance and help pay for transportation projects like the FRPR. 

A second, SB 190, preserves train tracks at risk of abandonment from reduced coal freight by creating an income tax credit. Qualified rail lines must be covered by an access agreement for passenger rail. 

Burke also said that the time would allow the district to make concrete plans to push the rail project forward, citing the nearly 20-year languishing of the Regional Transportation District’s planned commuter Northwest Rail line between Denver and Longmont. RTD was successful in a ballot initiative that included the project in 2004. 

“We’re aware of this and we’re looking at all the things we don’t want to do,” she said. 

She said that the FRPR district was collaborating with RTD to find solutions that would allow both lines get services past the planning stage.