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Colorado awarded $44 million federal grant for rail safety upgrades
ColoradoBiz Staff //August 21, 2026//
Train track curving along a mountain pass near La Veta, Colorado. Deposit Photos.
Train track curving along a mountain pass near La Veta, Colorado. Deposit Photos.
Colorado awarded $44 million federal grant for rail safety upgrades
ColoradoBiz Staff //August 21, 2026//
In Brief:
- Colorado awarded $44 million federal railroad safety grant
- CDOT leads $55 million Safe, Agile, Fast and Efficient Rail Travel project
- Six mobile hazardous materials caches to be deployed in mountain towns
- Union Pacific Railroad tracks targeted for safety and stabilization upgrades
Colorado has been selected for a $44 million Federal Railroad Administration grant to improve rail safety and emergency response along mountain corridors in central and western Colorado.
The federal grant, combined with $11 million from the state’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Cash Fund, will support the Colorado Department of Transportation’s $55 million Safe, Agile, Fast and Efficient Rail Travel project.
The project will install rockfall barriers, fencing and stabilization measures along about 2 miles of track through Byers Canyon. Rockfalls in the canyon have caused derailments, damaged trains and delayed passenger and freight service.
CDOT also will purchase and equip six mobile hazardous materials and emergency response caches in East Portal, Winter Park, Hot Sulphur Springs, Steamboat Springs, Dotsero and Parachute. The equipment will give first responders faster access to specialized supplies in remote areas.
The project also includes safety analyses at seven railroad crossings and improvements at two priority crossings in Grand County.
“This grant will let us build key safety features that will protect the people and goods that use this rail line,” CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew said.
Union Pacific Railroad owns and operates the tracks where much of the work will occur. The improvements will support freight service as well as Amtrak‘s California Zephyr and Winter Park Express routes and Canyon Spirit’s private passenger service.
CDOT will work with the federal agency and Union Pacific to finalize the grant agreement, conduct environmental reviews, complete designs and purchase the emergency response equipment.
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