Agenda Date: 03/17/2026
Subject:
Title
Front Range Passenger Rail project update and station discussion
Body
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From: |
James L. Becklenberg, City Manager |
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Prepared by: |
Kathleen Osher, Deputy City Manager |
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Kenna Davis, Senior Transportation Planner |
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Presentations: |
Kathleen Osher, Deputy City Manager |
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Kenna Davis, Senior Transportation Manager |
PURPOSE:
Staff will present a comparison of the Littleton-Downtown and Littleton-Mineral Stations for a future Front Range Passenger Rail station and seek Council direction on the preferred station to continue to coordinate planning efforts with the FRPR district through the Energy and Mineral Impact Assistance Fund (EIAF) grant program through the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) to advance coordinated station area visioning for proposed rail stations.
LONG-TERM OUTCOME(S) SERVED:
Vibrant Community with Rich Culture; Sustainable Community with Natural Beauty; Robust and Resilient Economy
DISCUSSION:
As the Service Development Plan (SDP) for Front Range Passenger Rail (FRPR) nears completion, it is defining routes, stations, service levels, costs, and steps to implementation. Unlike previous passenger rail efforts in Colorado, FRPR is focused on using existing freight tracks to deliver service sooner. Littleton’s freight tracks along the consolidated main line include both Burlington Northern and Union Pacific service lines with service running through current RTD light rail stations at Littleton-Downtown and Littleton-Mineral stations.
While both Littleton stations have light rail service, only the Mineral Station had previously been explored as part of the SDP because from an engineering perspective, CDOT determined it would be extremely difficult and very costly to fit in a station at Littleton-Downtown given the current freight and LRT infrastructure. CDOT’s initial determination was that Mineral's footprint is more conducive. With the new leadership and station area planning focus of Front Range Passenger Rail, local municipalities have been engaged to again consider the optimal station for FRPR. Staff has prepared an analysis of both Littleton stations, sought a recommendation from the Transportation Mobility Board, and will present the comparison of stations for discussion with City Council.
The station comparison has been assessed based on the city’s 2040 community goals from Envision Littleton that are reiterated as the strategic outcomes of Horizon 2027. Each station is evaluated on its merits to achieve the city’s goal to be a vibrant community with a rich culture, a sustainable community with natural beauty, a robust and resilient economy, a safe community, and a community operating with good governance. Staff has prepared a detailed matrix to compare both stations that include the anticipated ridership, rail service criteria, station location criteria, planning criteria and opportunities, as well as costs and ability to implement.
The economic impact of both stations is generally positive but given the early determination of Littleton-Mineral as the preferred station by CDOT the city engaged Matrix Design Group and ArLand Land Use Economics, LLC, to conduct an impact assessment of the potential economic and fiscal impacts of a Front Range Passenger Rail (FRPR) Station at the Littleton-Mineral Station. If council wishes to further explore an engineering solution at Littleton-Downtown station, an economic cost benefit impact analysis that accounts for both positive economic impact and the cost implications of relocation, land acquisition, future investments, and additional safety/capacity improvements would be recommended by staff.
The analysis finds that public investment in a Front Range Passenger Rail stop at the Mineral Station results in economic and fiscal benefits to the City of Littleton as follows:
• Spurs $325 million in new development investment in multifamily housing, retail, office, and commercial jobs.
• Structured parking is also assumed to accommodate both transit and private development parking.
• Generates 1,620 jobs and $134 million in labor income over 30 years
• Contributes over $750 million to the City of Littleton’s economy over 30 years
Qualitatively, the economic impact assessment found that FRPR transit investments at the Mineral Station would complement the current light rail transit infrastructure investments and station area development over the last ten years. Enabling transit-oriented development in this location would facilitate investments in walkability and placemaking, conserve land and resources, and help support efficient infrastructure use. It will improve the quality of life for Littleton residents who live and work close to the station and for visitors who take advantage of Littleton’s amenities by providing the ability to travel throughout the Front Range without needing an automobile.
BACKGROUND:
The Front Range Passenger Rail District is an independent taxing district with the vision of bringing intercity passenger rail to Colorado. The district is empowered to plan, design, develop, finance, construct, operate and maintain an interconnected passenger rail system along the Front Range that will provide increased connectivity to Front Range cities and have competitive travel times compared with other modes of surface transportation. CDOT has been supporting the district with technical analysis, design, planning, and advice.
The development of the station area plan begins with developing a vision and setting goals and objectives, then identifying sites using three primary principles:
• transportation connectivity
• urban design, and
• infill development
Primary stations will be in areas generally meeting the following criteria:
• Located within the FRPR system corridor
• In, or within proximity of, a major population center, defined as a population of 55,000 or greater within a 5-mile radius of the proposed location
• Proximate to activity centers and offering economic and transit-oriented development opportunities
• Generally, not located within 10 miles of another primary station
• Offer a high level of multimodal transportation connectivity, including local and regional transit systems, bicycle, and pedestrian infrastructure.
In recent years communication with FRPR has been a struggle for local municipalities and in early iterations of the FRPR alignment a potential southwest metro station was identified without clearly stating its municipal or county location. Early in 2024, the city learned the station may be further south in Douglas County or at Littleton-Mineral, so city staff confirmed Littleton’s interest in a future FRPR station and renamed the previous South Metro Station to Littleton Station within the draft SDP materials.
The FRPR district continues to reach out to and educate voters along the front range in anticipation of a potential 2026 ballot question with a series of town hall meetings. Part of this outreach includes station area planning to support local visions for multimodal commercial hubs at proposed stops. The district will provide platforms in the rail right-of-way but envisions stations that include commercial activity, amenities, transit-oriented development, and other integration with the surrounding community. To support the vision the district proposes preserving local flexibility while ensuring high-quality station delivery through annual station area grants for a 25-year period to each community hosting a passenger rail station.
Station-Area Municipal Grants funds must support the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of a passenger rail station, and may support broader station-area investments that enhance access, connectivity, and functionality, including multimodal access and first- and last-mile improvements. Final funding conditions, scopes, and obligations will be formalized through an IGA following voter approval of the referred ballot question. Annual Station-Area Municipal Grant amounts will be awarded for 25 years after ballot passage and will be based on community population. Littleton’s grant is anticipated to be approximately $2.0M annually if only the city’s population is estimated. If a five mile surrounding radius were included, the estimated population would grow to about 250,000 and the grant could grow to over $3.0 million annually based on the current funding proposed by the District.
Prior Actions or Discussions
• The Front Range Passenger Rail District introduced its new General Manager and provided an update on February 17, 2026.
• Staff provided comments and memo to the FRPRD on the draft SDP and Station Area Analysis in March 2025.
• The Front Range Passenger Rail District provided an introduction, overview of the district, update on service development planning, and local station planning on December 10, 2024.
FISCAL IMPACTS:
The FRPRD has shared with staff the need for an IGA after the passage of the ballot measure to dictate the terms of the Annual Station-Area Municipal Grant program. The current station area planning efforts and coordination do not require additional city funding but will require significant staff dedication and capacity. The current coordination has required about 10-15 hours per week and has reduced available capacity for the Safer Streets Littleton Program and other transportation planning efforts in Public Works as well as support from the City Manager’s office estimated at about 10-15 hours per week that has reduced capacity for planning efforts to support next steps for Geneva Village.
FRPRD/CDOT are planning to cover rail platform and rail operation costs for station within a specific threshold (still to be determined). Local municipalities will own and operate the stations proximate to platforms themselves and will be responsible for developing these stations and associated amenities but will be eligible for the Station-Area Municipal Grants mentioned above. The estimated costs associated with the Littleton-Downtown FRPR Station would likely result in FRPRD/CDOT only covering partial costs for the rail platform and rail operations, requiring the city to offset the additional costs for the significant engineering, relocation, land acquisition, future investments, and additional safety/capacity improvements. The estimated costs associated with the Littleton-Mineral FRPR Station would be fully covered by FRPRD/CDOT for the rail platform and rail operations.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Council direction to staff to draft a letter for the Mayor’s signature expressing a preference for the Mineral FRPR station location, and continue station area planning for the Littleton-Mineral Station.
ALTERNATIVES:
Council may continue to dedicate staff and consultant resources to further develop engineering design at the Littleton-Downtown station.
Proposed Motion