COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado — Amtrak train service might be coming to Colorado Springs in the future. Senators Cory Gardner and Michael Bennet announced on Friday that they had secured a $225,000 grant from the US Department of Transportation to study the feasibility of bringing a spur of the Southwest Chief to Colorado Springs from Pueblo.
Councilwoman Jill Gaebler serves on the Southwest Chief and Front Range Passenger Rail Commission. Representatives from Amtrak and the freight rail companies also have seats on the board. Gaebler said the extension of the Pueblo spur was Amtrak's idea.
"They approached us about the idea of not just having the spur go up to Pueblo, but then come the extra 30 miles into Colorado Springs. So, this is really figuring out the feasibility of that cost wise and see if that makes sense for Colorado Springs, and for Pueblo and for Amtrak."
Colorado Springs is the second largest city in the state but is not served by any commercial passenger train service. Gaebler said a side benefit of the rail spur project could be to build a large portion of the rail infrastructure needed for a passenger rail line from Pueblo to Fort Collins.
