An ambitious plan to connect Loveland and 11 other Colorado cities by passenger rail is gaining steam, but whether district voters will agree to a new sales tax needed to complete the system remains an open question.

On Wednesday, representatives from the Front Range Passenger Rail District hosted a public meeting in Loveland to discuss the project’s newly released draft delivery plan and what will be needed to fund it.

“I do believe this is probably the most important multimodal — certainly rail — project of this generation,” said James Flattum, the district’s associate director of strategic initiatives.

As currently envisioned, the proposed service, branded as the Colorado Connector, would eventually stretch 190 miles from Fort Collins to Pueblo, with 10 stops in between, including Loveland, Longmont, Boulder, Denver and Colorado Springs.

Rather than constructing an entirely new corridor, the Connector would run on existing freight tracks, with new platforms, signals, sidings and other improvements added to accommodate passenger trains.

The district plans to reach that full vision in stages, beginning with a three daily round trips between Fort Collins and Denver, slated to launch in 2029.

What is not an open question is how that first phase will be funded.

According to the district, the estimated $332 million capital cost would be covered through state oil and gas production fees, car rental fees and a contribution from the Regional Transportation District.

RTD’s funding stems from the unfinished FasTracks commuter rail project approved by voters in 2004. Boulder County residents have paid an additional sales tax for more than two decades to help finance a rail line from Denver through Boulder to Longmont, but the line was never completed. Under the partnership, some of those funds would instead be used to help launch the Colorado Connector’s initial service.

“A promise made 22 years ago was not kept,” Flattum said. “…But to RTD’s credit, they have stepped up to the plate, despite the huge budget challenges they are facing.”

That certainty does not extend to the project’s full build-out, however. Eventually, the district envisions as many as 10 daily round trips between Fort Collins and Denver and eight between Denver and Pueblo, an expansion that will cost an estimated $4.4 billion to complete.

To generate enough funding, the district is considering a 0.333% sales and use tax — about 33 cents on a $100 purchase — that Flattum said would generate just under $300 million annually. The tax would be collected only within the rail district’s boundaries, which include Loveland and Fort Collins but not Estes Park or all of Larimer County.

The money would pay for track improvements, sidings and operating expenses, with enough left over to help fund station construction and local transportation improvements for cities along the route.

Loveland’s share of that “local return” funding would be approximately $2.75 million per year, or $68.5 million over 25 years, to help improve access and infrastructure around the planned station at Seventh Street and Railroad Avenue.

“What’s really exciting about this project is that we get to decide what that looks like for our city,” senior transportation planner AnnaRose Cunningham said.

The district’s board is expected to decide Aug. 28 whether to place the tax on the November ballot. If voters within the district approve it, Flattum said passenger trains could reach all 12 communities within five years, with additional tracks and trains added incrementally over the following 15 years.

If the measure fails, starter service is still expected to launch in 2029, but the southern extension, added trains and local-return program would not proceed on the proposed schedule, Flattum continued.

The district is seeking feedback on the draft plan, which can be downloaded at coloradoconnector.com.

Loveland is also conducting a separate public process focused on the station area. For more information or to sign up for project updates, visit letstalkloveland.org/frpr-station.

© 2026 Loveland Reporter-Herald, Colo.
Visit www.reporterherald.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.