Western Rail Coalition > I-70 Express Rail
While upgrades to the Central Corridor are certainly needed, there is only so much that can be done to the line that suffers from low line speeds due to curve geometry and does not serve some of the biggest mountain resorts such as Vail. If rail is to provide a genuine alternative transportation system to road traffic on I-70 for locals, commuters and tourists alike, major new construction will be required on the I-70 corridor.
A full rail solution to adequately serve the I-70 corridor involves a new line from from Winter Park to Eagle-Vail via Silverthorne and the Vail Valley where it would join the Tennessee Pass alignment near Minturn.
From east to west, the proposed route diverges from the existing Central Corridor at Winter Park and follows the Saint Louis Creek at-grade into a pair of two new tunnels under the Byers Peak Wilderness and the South Williams Fork Mountains before surfacing at Silverthorne which will have a station. From Silverthorne, a third tunnel carries the line under Vail Pass to Vail (which will have a station serving the town and resort) with a small fourth tunnel connecting to the existing Tennessee Pass Line just north of Minturn approaching Eagle-Vail.
The new line will have a length of 51.5 miles, be double-tracked throughout and should be specified for speeds of up to 125mph. It will include four tunnels:
- Byers Base Tunnel (Winter Park to Silverthorne) – 7.1 miles
- Williams Base Tunnel (Winter Park to Silverthorne) – 4.8 miles
- Vail Pass Tunnel (Silverthorne to Vail) – 10.0 miles
- Davos Tunnel (West Vail to Eagle-Vail) – 0.7 miles
In addition, it is likely that a second Moffat Tunnel bore will be required to boost capacity which would increase the amount of tunneling from 22.5 miles to 28.7 miles.
I-70 Express Rail Map
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