Colorado bill to help fund passenger rail projects advances in House

DENVER — A Colorado legislative committee has advanced a bill to help fund passenger rail and transportation projects.

By an 8-3 vote, the state House Transportation, Housing & Local Government committee passed SB24-184, which will assess a fee on rental cars to help pay for the development of projects including the Front Range (Fort Collins-Pueblo) and Mountain Rail (Denver-Craig) passenger projects. The bill originally called for a $2 to $3 increase in an existing rental car fee [see “Colorado looks to rental-car fee …,” Trains News Wire, March 15, 2024]; the amended version passed by the committee has recast the charge as a “congestion fee” to offset congestion and wear and tear on roads caused by rental vehicles.

The resulting money is intended to be used for local matching funds necessary to land federal funding for projects. The bill also calls for coordination between Denver’s Regional Transportation District, the Front Range Passenger Rail District, and the state Department of Transportation, to develop passenger service between Denver and Fort Collins, Colo., as the first part of the Front Range route.

“Once-in-a-generation federal infrastructure funding is giving us the opportunity to build an expanded passenger rail system that will create the transportation options Coloradans have been asking for,” Speaker Julie McCluskie said in a press release from Colroado House Democrats. “In addition to creating transit that reduces traffic and air pollution, passenger rail projects, including Mountain Rail, will create Colorado jobs and boost economies throughout the state.”