Funding, local transit focus and how exactly the Front Range Passenger Rail will serve Coloradans are a few topics Denver residents have on their minds regarding an upcoming project meant to bring 180 miles of passenger rails to the Interstate 25 corridor.

Planners for the Front Range Passenger Rail District laid out project goals and took questions from the public at a town hall meeting Wednesday morning in downtown Denver, one of several events the district has planned to solicit public feedback. The train project will create a passenger rail service between Pueblo and Fort Collins, with future connections to New Mexico and Wyoming possible, in an effort to provide alternatives to car travel.

Wednesday’s town hall drew a few dozen Denver residents to the Alliance Center on Wynkoop Street. The event started with an overview of the project, including how it can reduce travel costs, travel time and improve air quality in Colorado by reducing the number of cars traveling on I-25, before diving into a Q&A session.

The town halls come ahead of plans for a 2026 ballot measure relating to the funding of the rail, which could include public funding.

Ean Tafoya, Colorado State Director for GreenLatinos, said the rail project is meant to make travel equitable by providing a way for Coloradans without cars to travel into the Denver area.

“Why do they need to come to Denver? Because we have the hub of everything, health facilities in particular,” Tafoya said. “So we have elders, veterans, who have to come to Denver, Colorado to get the services they need.”

John Putnam, chair of the Front Range Passenger Rail board of directors, said data from the 2025 Urban Mobility Report showed fuel consumption is increasing. Commuters in Denver are burning up to 20 extra gallons of gas per year because of traffic jams and spending more time in traffic — issues the passenger rail is hoping to alleviate.

Among the questions posed by residents were questions about the funding of the project. Putnam said the financial plan for the project, including the total estimated cost, is currently under review and will be finalized within the next couple of months. Putnam said a sales tax or tax increment finance tools are being considered as ways to generate revenue to fund the project.

Jill Locantore, executive director of the Denver Streets Partnership, said while she is excited for the rail as it can help reduce dependency on car travel, she is worried about the passenger rail taking precedent over local transit such as buses.

“Denver is the hub with all the destinations people are trying to get to,” Locantore said. “It would be a failure if people got off the Front Range Passenger Rail and had to take an Uber to get to their final destination, because we don’t have good local transit.”

Locantore said she is worried about the Regional Transportation District cutting services because of funding issues and said voters could become fatigued by repeated requests for funding for public transit. In response, Putnam said he is confident voters will see the value provided by the passenger rail and see that they can trust their tax dollars will be used wisely.

Other questions included whether existing freight lines would be utilized for the passenger rail and how the rail service would work for special events that run outside of the planned service times, such as sporting events. Putnam said the current plan is to utilize the existing freight lines to reduce costs, and said the passenger rail will work with local sports stadiums and arenas to provide “special event services” to transport people after games and events.

Attendance has varied at previous town halls, Putnam said, with some drawing a few dozen and others a few hundred. He said the district has planned the events for different time frames throughout the day in order to reach the most people.

Putnam said the feedback received at the town halls shows what the public is concerned about and wants to see in the project. He said most residents just want to know how the passenger rail will serve them and their communities.

The next town hall is planned for 3:30 p.m. Thursday in Colorado Springs.