After an eight year gap, the ski train service that started Colorado’s ski boom back in 1940 will come back in to service this winter.
The service will officially recommence on Saturday 7th January 2017 with surface resuming from Denver’s Union Station, but arriving in to Winter Park at an all new platform built just steps from the ski lifts.
The move to reinstate the service comes after two weekend service last winter, with tickets priced at $75, quickly sold out on the day they were issued.
The new service will run every weekend through to March 26th, 2017 and also on Mondays in January and February. Each train will be able to carry up to 500 skiers and boarders with tickets costing from $39 for adults with children aged 2 to 12 paying half price.
The Winter Park Express Amtrak train will leave Denver at 7am taking two hours to reach the resort, then depart back at 4:30pm, arriving Denver at 6:40pm
Winter Park is one of the few major ski areas that is publically owned, by the city of Denver, although it is now operated by Intrawest.
The new platform at Winter Park Mountain Resort has cost several million dollars to build with funding coming from the Colorado Department of Transportation, the city of Denver, the Town of Winter Park, the Colorado Rail Passengers Association and from Intrawest.
“This is the culmination of a long but rewarding process and we couldn’t be more excited to have passenger rail service return to the doorstep of Winter Park Resort,” said Gary DeFrange, Winter Park’s president.
Referring to the increasing problem of congestion on the main road west out of Denver to the state’s ski areas, Mr DeFrange added, “We know there’s incredible demand for a viable transportation alternative to I-70 and we’re deeply appreciative to Amtrak, Union Pacific, CDOT, City of Denver, and the Town of Winter Park for helping to make this long-standing dream a reality.”