The Colorado Department of Transportation recently noted that ridership on its expanded Winter Park Express or “Ski Train” service increased by 153 percent to a total of 43,919 riders mid-December 2024 through March 2025 versus the same 2023-2024 period a year earlier.
[Above photo via Amtrak]
The agency said the Ski Train, operated through a partnership between Winter Park Resorts and Amtrak, runs from Denver to the Winter Park Resort and the Winter Park-Fraser station during the ski season and that they were full 89 percent of the time; regularly running at 95 percent capacity or more on weekends.
This year, the Colorado DOT expanded service for the Winter Park Express from three to five days a week and cut fares by 40 percent. So where passengers previously had only been able to take the train on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, they could now take it on Thursday and Monday as well.
The agency added that the train’s increased schedule and decreased fares were made possible by revenue from the first year of the state’s new Congestion Impact Fee on rental cars, administered by the Colorado Transportation Investment Office or CTIO. In addition to overseeing the state’s Express Lanes, CTIO is funding surface transportation projects that include rail.
“Historic ridership increases on the Winter Park Express prove that when Coloradans are provided an affordable, reliable and safe transportation option to get to the mountains, we flock to it,” said Governor Jared Polis (D) in a statement.
“Thanks to this year’s state investment, more Coloradans than ever skipped the I-70 traffic and took the train to the mountains,” he added. “Expanding this service and delivering Mountain Rail in this corridor will continue this historic growth, reducing traffic and pollution and saving people time and money.”
“Our train crews and our team of volunteers rose to the challenge of unprecedented ridership for the Winter Park Express, delivering the service safely and successfully,” said Jennifer Mitchell, Amtrak executive vice president, strategy and planning. “Thanks to Gov. Polis and Colorado DOT for their support and to our operating partners at Union Pacific (UP) Railroad, BNSF Railway, and Denver RTD for a sensational season.”
“CTIO couldn’t be happier with the results of the first season of expanded service for the ski train,” said CTIO Director Piper Darlington. “We believe ridership will continue to grow as more people learn about the additional days and lower fares.”
The final numbers for ridership on the ski train come just as Colorado and UP signed an agreement to allow UP to continue operations through the state-owned Moffat Tunnel while also permitting the state to operate expanded passenger rail service on UP rail networks.
Additionally, Colorado DOT is in the process of planning the re-establishment of passenger rail service from Denver to Craig, connecting communities in the Yampa Valley with the state’s largest metro area.
Service is expected to start in phases over the next several years, the agency added, with train service eventually serving Granby, Steamboat Springs, Hayden, Craig and other communities.
