Colorado will receive more than $66 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation to invest in rail transportation and safety infrastructure, Gov. Jared Polis said Tuesday.
Part of the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the funding will join the state’s $28 million to improve safety on the BNSF line north of Denver. Officials said the $94.3 million in total funding will improve safety of freight operations by adding Positive Train Control and crossing improvements to the Front Range Rail Corridor.
The governor said it was a step toward fast, convenient, and safe passenger rail service
“Today’s grant will make freight rail traffic in some of our busiest growing communities safer quickly while providing critical building blocks for Passenger Rail,” Polis said. “This major funding will help achieve important priorities like complying with longstanding federal standards and improving the safety of rail crossings, which can be the sites of dangerous incidents.”
The funding will also ensure the safety of rail operations, Jim Tylick, Assistant Vice President of Passenger Operations at BNSF said.
“The Colorado Department of Transportation’s Modernizing Rail on the Front Range project will improve existing rail operations along the Front Range by delivering improvements to several highway grade crossings, constructing a new passing siding, and deploying the safety overlay of positive train control across a portion of the corridor,” Tylick said. “We appreciate the early collaboration with the Front Range Passenger Rail District, CDOT, and the FRA as intercity passenger rail is considered along the Front Range in Colorado. We know the projects identified in this grant will benefit the rail corridor today while also providing benefit in the future as passenger rail is explored.”