Potential passenger train could make traveling easier along I-25

Sitting in standstill traffic on Interstate 25 can be a nightmare for many drivers, but a local administrator is bringing up an often-mentioned idea as a possible solution: a passenger rail train.

With the average commuter spending more than a week in traffic every year, according to the United States Census Bureau, Colorado Springs City Council President Pro-Tem Jill Gaebler wants to help fix the problem in Southern Colorado.

“A mode of travel that is consistent, reliable and scalable, and passenger rail is that mode of transportation,” said Gaebler.

The commission is moving quickly to start progress on the new train, as they are about to hire an executive director. Gaebler says they’ll then hire a consultant who will be coordinating with cities and other jurisdictions along the front range for a path.

However, there is a caveat. Gaebler says the project is something that we might have to pay for ourselves. But Gaebler said the new railway would make the most sense fiscally.

“Spending half a billion dollars to add another lane on I-25, that is not going to solve our congestion problems; and Colorado Springs, as the second-largest city, really needs to have consistent and reliable transportation.”

Gaebler is working to have something on the ballot by 2020. If all goes according to plan and the voters say yes, then Gaebler says we could see a train along I-25 by the mid 2020s.

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