U.S. Senator Ken Salazar

Member of the Agriculture, Energy and Veterans Affairs Committees

 

2300 15th Street, Suite 450 Denver, CO 80202 | 702 Hart Senate Building, Washington, D.C. 20510

 

 

For Immediate Release

June 8, 2005

CONTACT:    Cody Wertz – Press Secretary

                        202-228-3630

Jen Clanahan – Deputy Press Secretary

                        303-455-7600

 

SEN. SALAZAR ENDORSES FRONT RANGE HIGH SPEED RAIL

 

Washington, D.C. – United States Senator Ken Salazar is endorsing the study of front range high speed commuter rail linking Cheyenne, Wyoming with Denver, Colorado and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Senator Salazar sent a letter endorsing this vision and offering help to pursue it to Bob Briggs of the Front Range Commuter Rail Organization.

“I believe we have the opportunity to create a high speed commuter rail system to link our major population centers and set the stage for the next century,” said Salazar. “It is time to study this project’s feasibility, cost-effectiveness, and most importantly its impact on local communities. No matter the outcome of the study we need to find solutions now to our future transportation problems.”

Senator Salazar will speak at the Front Range Commuter Rail Conference on Saturday at 9:00 am MDT at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds 15200 W. 6th Ave. in Golden. The Conference will look at opportunities for and impacts of commuter rail as well as federal funding possibilities.

In a letter to Bob Briggs, President of Front Range Commuter Rail, a nonprofit organization supported by local governments, Salazar said:

“The future of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, from Cheyenne, Wyoming, to Albuquerque, New Mexico, is woven together by the Interstate 25 corridor and the communities along that corridor. The futures of New Mexico, Wyoming and Colorado will be closely linked together by this corridor. We have experienced and will continue to experience significant growth in our three states along I-25, as well as the challenges that come with that growth.

The FasTracks transportation initiative—approved by a wide margin of Denver area voters last fall—will build new light rail and commuter rail lines throughout the Denver area. As part of FasTracks, the Regional Transportation District (RTD) is already negotiating with Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railroad and Union Pacific Railroad for the right to use their rails to provide commuter service from the northern to the southern edges of metropolitan Denver. With commuter service established through the congested Denver hub, we will have overcome the most difficult obstacle to providing commuter rail service from Fort Collins to Pueblo. And, if commuter rail service connects Colorado from north to south, it also makes sense to extend service all along the Front Range, from Cheyenne to Albuquerque, all on existing rights of way.

Today, we have the opportunity to create a high speed commuter rail system to link our major population centers and set the stage for the rest of this century and beyond, but we must act quickly. Unless we start preparing for this commuter rail system now by closely studying its feasibility and cost-effectiveness, we may find that new communities that spring up in this corridor, or the expansion of existing ones, will make sensible transportation alternatives impractical.

  • The potential benefits of a Front Range Commuter Rail system are far-reaching. Such a rail system could:
  • Speed inter-city and interstate travel;
  • Reduce highway traffic along I-25 and connecting roadways;
  • Reduce the need to build new highways in the area;
  • Reduce automobile fuel consumption;
  • Serve our communities’ present employers and attract new, quality employers;
  • Support our centers of higher education;
  • Make the Front Range, from Cheyenne to Albuquerque, a social and economic magnet; and
  • Improve the quality of life of our citizens.

I encourage the efforts of your organization—Front Range Commuter Rail (FRCR). The goal of FRCR is to create a public-private partnership to explore the potential for the project and, if there is sufficient support, to pursue the necessary feasibility studies. FRCR has found strong support within the Colorado business community. In addition, Cheyenne Leads, a Wyoming non-profit economic development organization, has already joined FRCR, and transportation leaders in New Mexico are also very interested. I know that many of these FRCR members and supporters will come together at your Front Range Commuter rail conference on June 11 to discuss this exciting project and I look forward to speaking at the conference.

I offer you my support and look forward to the results of your conference this Saturday.”

 

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