When phase 2 of the proposed Colorado Mountain Rail Project passenger train line is developed to transport people back and forth on the rails from Oak Creek to Craig, the length of the rides would be competitive with driving time, officials say.

The route also would be safer than current crowded and sometimes deadly rush-hour driving along U.S. Highway 40 between Craig and Steamboat Springs, said Paul DesRocher, director of the Division of Transit and Rail at Colorado Department of Transportation.

“The foundational reason for this project is to create safe alternatives,” DesRocher said Monday.

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DesRocher presented the latest information on the ongoing Mountain Rail Service Development Plan to a large crowd Monday evening in Library Hall at Bud Werner Memorial Library in Steamboat Springs.

Members of three consultant teams working on the project were on hand, standing at poster displays to answer community member questions and gather input. The meeting was part of the third round of CDOT-hosted, in-person public open houses that began in September.

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Mountain Rail would include a train station in Oak Creek between Bell and Sharp avenues, two stations in Steamboat near downtown and near Steamboat Resort, a station in Hayden very near the existing historic depot and a station in Craig where the railway intersects with Yampa Avenue.

The division director said a plan report is due to the Colorado Legislature by the end of this month. Then a virtual, public open house will take place in late February or early March to present final details of the Service Development Plan.

That winter virtual meeting will provide more answers to common questions, such as some posed by the Monday audience, about the completion timeline, facility requirements — including the addition of a Positive Train Control safety system — passenger train schedules, and costs for rides.

Audience members also posed questions about federal funding with the change in presidential leadership, how package and product delivery service companies might partner with the train system, and how the proposed train system would connect with buses, shuttles or bike trails to Yampa Valley Regional Airport and other locations. State funding for rail projects will come from Congestion Impact Fees on rental cars starting in 2025.

DesRocher said the goal of Mountain Rail is to complete phase 1 — Union Station in downtown Denver to Granby — in 2027.

That route would use existing Union Pacific Railroad lines via a lease arrangement to provide enhanced and more frequent passenger rail service beyond the current seasonal Winter Park Express ski train and the California Zephyr service by Amtrak.

DesRocher said CDOT negotiations with Union Pacific, including some rail system upgrades, are being negotiated in a parallel process to Mountain Rail planning and design.

The virtual meeting in late February or early March would release the proposed timeline for the development of the second phase — Craig to Oak Creek service — that would happen after 2027.

Mountain Rail developers listed various benefits for the proposed train system, such as bringing employees from Hayden and Craig to work at the ski resort, reducing greenhouse gas pollution emissions by lowering vehicle miles traveled in personal cars, improving air quality and promoting reliable, safe and congestion-free mobility options.

The presentation pointed to fostering “economic vitality through improved transportation equity and a just transition away from fossil fuels.”

The current planning outlines three options for the final service routes, but DesRocher said CDOT may favor the broad option A with its combination of local, short and long patterns.

Option A includes four roundtrips between Oak Creek and Craig. While most station locations are generally mapped or will use existing stations, the location of two stations in Steamboat are currently approximated within two circled areas.

The stations extending from Denver would include West Metro, Rollinsville, Winter Park Resort, Fraser-Winter Park, Granby, Hot Sulphur Springs, Kremmling, Oak Creek, Steamboat Springs Resort, Steamboat Springs Downtown, Hayden and Craig.

Project planners are reviewing three trainset types including “locomotive-hauled, push-pull and multiple unit.” The propulsion technology under consideration includes diesel-biofuel, electric, battery-electric or hydrogen.

DesRocher said a request for proposals for train companies to operate the services will be released in 2025.

As another indication of the project’s forward-moving future, DesRocher announced the hiring in late November of CDOT Assistant Director for Passenger Rail Maux Sullivan, who previously worked for six years at RTD in Denver.

Organizers encouraged residents to learn more at ColoradoMountainRail.org, which includes a Frequently Asked Questions section and a link to submit email addresses to receive future notifications. Questions can be sent to coloradomountainrail@getinfonow.us.

“We are taking all this information that feeds directly into the planning process,” DesRocher said. “It really is critical, and some of the things that we hear from you, again, are how this project is going to take shape.”