Colorado’s passenger-rail conversation is often framed as two separate stories: a Front Range “spine” along I-25, and a harder, longer-term quest to offer real alternatives to the I-70 mountain drive. The Western Rail Coalition (WRC) sits squarely in the second camp. It is not a state agency or an operator; it’s a coalition of elected officials, transportation advocates, business voices, and engaged residents working to build momentum for passenger rail west of the Front Range—especially in the I-70 mountain corridor.
What makes the WRC worth watching is that its agenda overlaps with a project that is moving through the public process: CDOT’s “Colorado Mountain Rail” (often shortened to Mountain Rail)—a state-led effort that aims to restore passenger rail along the existing line from Denver toward northwest Colorado. The coalition’s broader vision extends beyond that first CDOT corridor, pitching a network that could eventually connect mountain valleys, airports, resort communities, and Western Slope cities with the Front Range—mostly by leveraging existing rail rights-of-way and focusing on phased rollouts.
The Western Rail Coalition describes itself as a Rocky Mountain region group formed to support the study and advancement of expanded passenger rail in the I-70 Mountain Corridor west of the Front Range, with technical support from advocates at Greater Denver Transit.
In practical terms, the coalition plays three roles:
- Vision-setter: it publishes maps, concept papers, and a menu of “Western Rail” corridors—some near-term, many aspirational.
- Pressure-and-partnership builder: it has urged the state to expand study scopes (notably around Tennessee Pass and the Eagle River Valley) and to pursue public-private approaches.
- Bridge to projects already underway: it points to CDOT’s Mountain Rail work as the most tangible “starter” for broader west-of-Denver passenger service.
That last point matters because the coalition’s biggest credibility boost is that Colorado has already taken a major step toward enabling more mountain passenger service: a long-term access agreement with Union Pacific for the Moffat Tunnel route (the core gateway through the Continental Divide on the Denver–Bond–northwest Colorado line).
CDOT Mountain Rail (Denver–Granby first)
The corridor…