Colorado Connector, or CoCo, is an intercity passenger rail, not light rail or a typical commuter train. Starter Service is targeted to begin in 2029, operating in eight Front Range communities. The experience is designed around longer trips, with comfortable seating and amenities including Wi-Fi, power outlets, restrooms, luggage and bicycle storage, and food and beverage service. You can work, read, talk with family or simply enjoy the view without fighting highway traffic or worrying about parking.
CoCo’s Starter Service does not depend on constructing an entirely new railroad from scratch. Instead, it is a practical, phased plan that leverages existing rail infrastructure, available funding and negotiated agreements. This combination enables daily round trips between Denver and Fort Collins within three years, with service to more than a dozen communities by 2032.
For Boulder County residents in particular, the following point is critical: No new tax is required for Starter Service to begin. The first phase is fully funded through a combination of funding from RTD FasTracks and state rail funds from CDOT enterprises, and is the realization of our collective investments into rail these many years.
CoCo is fundamentally different from massive new rail projects that have struggled elsewhere. Rather than acquiring an entirely new right-of-way, CoCo will primarily use existing corridors. For example, CoCo will utilize RTD tracks between Denver Union Station and Westminster, and BNSF’s existing rails from Westminster to Broomfield, Louisville, Boulder, Longmont, Loveland and Fort Collins.
To learn more about how CoCo would work, from funding and travel times to equipment, station area improvements and future expansion, read the CoCo Delivery Plan, published by the Front Range Passenger Rail District.
How can CoCo benefit Boulder County residents?
Imagine taking the train directly to Denver Union Station to watch the Rockies, immerse yourself in the art and music scene, and do some work. For visitors coming to Sundance or to cheer on the Buffs, we can easily imagine full train cars and less congested roads.
The opportunities extend along the entire Front Range. Roughly 85% of Coloradans and 86% of the state’s jobs are concentrated along the Front Range, which is projected to absorb most of Colorado’s future population growth. Meanwhile, congestion costs drivers dozens of hours each year, and vehicle traffic remains a major contributor to air pollution.
To state the obvious, no train will eliminate congestion on US 36 or the Diagonal Highway, but every traveler who chooses rail represents one fewer vehicle making that trip. If you like the idea of making a meaningful dent in the 60,000 cars driving into Boulder each day, or reducing car-related CO2 emissions (already the largest source of carbon emissions in Colorado), CoCo creates a long-overdue, reliable alternative.
Perhaps just as important, if CoCo is expanded beyond the initial service, each station area in Boulder County could receive tens of millions of dollars in material financial support through the proposed Local Return Program. This program would fund station-area improvements, multimodal connections and other local priorities. For example, Boulder and Longmont would receive over $92 million each over 25 years, while Louisville would receive approximately $55 million, subject to voter approval and final agreements.
These dollars would be in addition to the Front Range Passenger Rail District’s investments in essential rail infrastructure such as platforms, sidings, trains, canopies and ADA access. The result is an opportunity not simply to bring trains into Boulder County, but to strengthen the walking, biking and transit connections that allow people to reach them.
After waiting more than 20 years for passenger rail, the question is not whether we should keep waiting for a perfect system — it’s how we’ll start riding one within the next three years.
