Ski Train Starts Yearly Service To Winter Park, Where Great Conditions Await Skiers
DENVER (CBS4) - The ski train from Union Station in Denver to Winter Park and back is up and running for the season. The first trip by the Amtrak Winter Park Express train left on Monday morning.
None of the trips between Union Station and Winter Park are sold out so far.
RELATED: Volunteers Help The Ski Train Make The Trip To Winter Park
The train is scheduled to depart Denver each Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 7 a.m. and leave Winter Park at 4:30 p.m. through March 29. It's a two-hour trip each way that passes through 31 train tunnels including the 6.2 mile historic Moffat Tunnel that cuts directly through the Continental Divide just before Winter Park.
Some of the passengers on the ski train Friday morning told CBS4 they like the train because it means they don't have to brave the traffic on Interstate 70 to go skiing. Others said they are heading up to Grand County to go snowshoeing.
Conditions are favorable for both activities right now in Colorado's High Country. Winter Park currently has a 50 inch snow base and periods of light snow are expected through the weekend. (Get the latest updates on the ski conditions in Colorado at CBSDenver.com/ski.)
The original Ski Train from Denver to Winter Park started in 1940 and continued for almost 70 years until being suspended in 2009. Then after a eight year hiatus, Amtrak and Winter Park Resort teamed up in 2017 to bring back the train. The latest iteration uses the same double-decker Superliner passenger cars Amtrak uses for the California Zephyr train that travels through Denver each day between Oakland, California and Chicago. Because nationwide train travel tends to decrease in the winter months, Amtrak uses train equipment that would otherwise be idle until the spring and summer travel season.
Tickets start at $29 each way. Children ages 2-12 ride for half-fare with each ticketed adult. Passengers can book a trip on the Amtrak website -- amtrak.com/winter-park-express -- or on Winter Park Resort's website.
