Colorado ski train no more

29th April 2009, by Chris Gill

The world-famous ski train that has served Colorado’s Winter Park resort for 69 years has run its final season.

The popular Rocky Mountain rail service has run between Denver and Winter Park every weekend since 1940, when the resort opened. It carried hundreds of passengers on the two hour trip throughout the winter season. But in recent years, the service has been making a substantial loss - increased by economic fears and rising insurance premiums.

The equipment has been sold to a subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway Company and will no longer operate in Colorado - Union Station is expected to be converted into a transportation centre as a hub for other rail services (freight and Amtrack).

Resort officials are already wondering how its loss will affect visitor numbers to the resort and to the alternative road routes - congestion is a real concern on busy weekends. Proposals have on several occasions covered the possibility of high-speed rail links to alleviate traffic to the region, and to other regions served by the busy I-70 motorway.

• colorado
• rail
• winter park
• ski train
• denver

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