Denver West Express proposes rail line connecting DIA to Bailey, Frisco and Avon
Sep 15, 2026, 4:34 PM | Updated: Sep 21, 2026, 2:13 pm
Coloradans have been hearing about a Denver-to-the-mountains train for what feels like forever. But a new proposal just dropped some actual numbers and the speed alone is enough to make your stomach drop.
A company called Denver West Express is proposing a 178-mile battery-electric rail line that would connect Denver International Airport to the mountain towns of Bailey, Frisco and Avon, with an end-of-line maintenance facility in Gypsum. The trains would be capable of hitting 120 miles per hour, with an average operating speed of 90 mph. For context, that’s faster than most people drive on I-70 in ideal conditions, and this thing would be doing it through mountain passes and canyon corridors. The proposed route would get you from DIA to the Avon station in an hour and 37 minutes, roughly 28 percent faster than driving.
Stations along the route would include DIA, Mineral Station in Littleton, Bailey, Frisco and Avon, which means you’d have relatively direct access to Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper Mountain, Vail and Beaver Creek without ever touching the I-70 parking lot on a Saturday morning. Company vice president Jay Branch said the project could reduce congestion on I-70 while providing a lower-emission transportation option through battery-powered trains.
Now for the reality check: the estimated construction cost is between $28 billion and $33 billion, and it would take 12 to 14 years to build. Denver West Express says it plans to rely heavily on private investment while also working with government agencies. This is also a separate project from CDOT’s Mountain Rail system, which would use existing track to connect Denver to Winter Park, Steamboat Springs and Craig, and the Colorado Connector, which is the proposed Fort Collins-to-Denver passenger rail. So yes, Colorado now has three different proposed train projects in the works. Whether any of them actually get built before your kids graduate college is another question entirely, but going 90 mph through the Rockies on a battery-powered train? That’s a pretty wild pitch.
