Tag Archives: ski train

Winter Park Ski Train Coming to an End?

Posted on by
Reply
 
 

Winter Park Ski Train

It is looking like the Winter Park Ski Train is not going to run for it’s 70th season.  The agreement between Amtrack, the taxpayer backed National rail line, and Iowa Pacific, owner of the proposed new ski train, has come to an impasse.

The problem as I see it is Amtrack didn’t want to have anything to do with a rail service that didn’t need a taxpayer handout.

The proposed new set up was for Iowa Pacific owned trains to run on Union Pacific track using Amtrack staff and engineers.  Amtrack raised their required insurance amount by 100 fold at the last minute to scuttle the 70th year of service of the Winter Park Ski Train.  Service is will not resume to at-least January 6th when a federal judge will hear Iowa Pacific’s injunction against Amtrack to force Amtrack to run the train for this season.

Iowa Pacific has sold more than 13,000 tickets already that it now will be forced to refund.  Iowa Pacific thought it had reached an agreement with Amtrak, which enjoys a government-protected monopoly to operate intercity passenger trains, to continue the ski train as an excursion line.

It really is a shame as the Ski Train was a unique amenity that Winter Park was able to offer to guests wanting travel to the Colorado Rockies from Denver on rail.  The Ski Train will be missed by all who have grown up with the service and those of us here in Winter Park.

Winter Park Ski Tain Ends Service

Posted on by
Reply
 
 

winter-park-ski-train1The Winter Park Ski Train has made its last run from Denver to Winter Park.  After 69 years of bringing Front Range skiers up to the mountain slopes, service has ended with the train being sold to Canadian firm Algoma Central Railway Inc.  The firm is owned by the Canadian National Railway Company.  The company operates a ski train from its headquarters in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario were the train will be relocated.  The train has been owned by the Ansco Investment Group a subsidairy of the Anschutz Co .  Reasons for the sale of the line, first run in 1940, was non-profitability and future concerns with the redevelopment and use of Denver’s Union Station.  The sale will cancel all summer trips previously scheduled.  The trains last run was March 29, 2009.

During the 1997 Summit of the Eight meeting of world leaders in Denver hosted by President Bill Clinton, first lady  Hillary Clinton hosted a trip up to Winter Park on the Ski Train for the spouses of other leaders attending the summit.

The closing of the train will be a blow to skiing enthusiasts who counted on the Ski Train for their trip up to Winter Park.  The downside of the Ski Train  had been that all trips up Winter Park had to be single day adventures.  There was no way to book a trip with a stay of a night or two at the resort without paying for two roundtrip tickets.  For those still wanting to travel by train to Winter Park can still take Amtrak service that runs from Denver’s Union Station to Fraser.