Early reports indicate that the Rocky Mountain Rail Authority — a Colorado entity led by a former state senator — wants to spend $21 billion on a starter high-speed rail system from Ft. Collins to Pueblo and Denver to Eagle. That’s about $65 million per mile, and would only buy trains that go an average of 60 mph in the mountains (that’s the Denver to Eagle part) and 140 mph on “portions” of the Ft. Collins to Pueblo part.
This is only a starter system as Colorado wants the Eagle line to go to Aspen, Craig, and Grand Junction, while Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas propose to eventually extend the Pueblo line to El Paso. The Antiplanner conservatively estimated that true high-speed rail on these routes would cost an average of $50 million per mile, so $65 million for 60 mph trains is pretty outrageous.
