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New Ski Train To Winter Park On Track To Take Over

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Nov 16, 2009 8:18 pm US/Mountain

New Ski Train To Winter Park On Track To Take Over

Reporting
Stan Bush
DENVER (AP/CBS4) ― A company seeking to keep Denver's ski train going is selling tickets for the upcoming season.

The Rio Grande Scenic Railroad is expected to provide service from Denver's Union Station to the Winter Park ski area from Dec. 27 to March 28 on weekends, holidays and other select days.

The company wants to take over the service as a successor to the Anschutz Co.'s Ski Train, using its rail cars. Anschutz sold the train's cars earlier this year after operating it for 21 years.

The scenic railroad has been negotiating with the Union Pacific Railroad, the track's owner, and Amtrak, which will provide crews.

Ed Ellis, the railroad's president, says his company needs final approval from Amtrak, but is confident it will come through in a week or two.

"We're very close to having everything be official," Rob Perlman with Winter Park Ski Resort said. "We're confident that it will be back and we're so confident that we're actually taking reservations for the ski train this season."

Perlman said the new train will be able to carry more passengers.

"As a result of carrying more passengers, the price is going to be more affordable than it has been in the past," Perlman said.

Tickets have dropped from $60 to $50 per person, but reservations before Christmas are only $34.

"The ski train has been running since we opened in 1940 and we were sad to see it go, but at the same time we're excited it's back," Perlman said.

If everything stays on the right track, the first ski train of the season will leave Union Station on Dec. 27.

Additional Resources

To make reservations, visit the Rio Grande Scenic Ski Train Web site.

Ski Train History

During its nearly 70 years of service the train would leave early in the morning and take passengers through 28 tunnels, including the 6.2 mile long Moffat Tunnel which runs across the Continental Divide. The Ski Train had boasted it could transport 750 passengers, more than any other passenger train.

The train operated mainly during the ski season but it also made some summer runs. It gave travelers a chance to get from Denver to Grand County without having to drive up Interstate 70 and over Berthoud Pass (or through Rocky Mountain National Park on Trail Ridge Road.)

In a Colorado Getaways feature in 2005 Jim Bain, president of the operation, said you "see sights on this trip that you can't see any other way than being on the train."

(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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