Denver – Salt Lake City
Western Rail Coalition > Central Corridor
The Central Corridor comprises of the Denver to Bond portion of the original Denver and Salt Lake Railway route, including the Moffat Tunnel (which passes under the Continental Divide) and Byers Canyon, the Dotsero Cutoff and the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad ‘Western Main Line’ route to Grand Junction via Glenwood Canyon. Today the entire route is owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad (UP). Approximately 15 freight trains a day use the line alongside Amtrak’s daily California Zephyr, the Winter Park Express seasonal ski train and the Canyon Spirit (formerly Rocky Mountaineer) luxury train.
Central Corridor Map
Additional “Colorado Zephyr” Trains?
The California Zephyr currently experiences high demand between Denver and Glenwood Springs / Grand Junction as convenient departure times, breathtaking scenery and Western slope destinations make for an easy and enjoyable short trip away from the Front Range. This creates a revenue problem for Amtrak as a seat / bought for an intra-Colorado journey takes one that could be sold at a higher price for a much longer journey, e.g. Chicago to Emeryville out of the inventory. Further support for the concept of extra trains is demonstrated by the current incarnation of the “ski train”, the hugely successful Winter Park Express which started in 2017 and now runs on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays between January and March.
The good news is that the Mountain Rail Project, aided by a 25-year lease and passenger rail access agreement with Union Pacific, will establish additional passenger train service from Denver to Craig along the corridor as far as Bond. Initially, trains are expected to be introduced between Denver and Granby from late 2026.
The Western Rail Coalition supports the studying of what would be required to implement additional year-round passenger rail service along the full route between Denver and Grand Junction.
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