Tickets on sale for Winter Park Express ski train, with service starting on Dec. 19 

Tickets are now on sale for the Amtrak Winter Park Express, with service beginning on Dec. 19.

The passenger rail line between Denver and Winter Park Resort will begin shuttling passengers on Fridays through Sundays from Dec. 19 through Jan. 4. Regular service begins on Jan. 8, with the train running on Thursdays through Sundays every week through March 29. 

Tickets can be purchased online at Amtrak.com/winter-park-express. 

The Winter Park Express departs from Union Station in Denver at 7 a.m. and arrives at the resort at 9:11 a.m. and in Fraser at 9:41 a.m. Returning trips depart Fraser at 4:05 p.m. and Winter Park Resort at 4:35 p.m. and arrive in Denver at 7:05 p.m.  

Passengers can bring their skis and snowboards as a carry-on for no additional charge, and they can again expect to pay lower fares this year and next after Colorado officials announced reduced tickets that went into effect during the 2024-25 season. The ticket prices are subsidized with revenue from a 2024 state law that imposed a $3 per-day fee on rental cars. 

One-way tickets this season will start at $9 for adults and $4.50 for children under 12. 

This season also marks the second for increased service, with the train running four days a week. Before the 2024-25 season, the train only operated on Fridays through Sundays. 

The combination of cheaper fares and expanded operations last season led to more than a doubling in ridership, officials said. 

That effort was seen as a precursor to the state’s grander ambitions to bolster passenger rail services between Denver and the northern mountains along the U.S. Highway 40 corridor. The state is eventually planning to extend rail service from Winter Park to include Steamboat Springs and Craig, with stops in Oak Creek, Hayden and the Yampa Valley Regional Airport. 

That plan hit an important milestone earlier this year after state officials clinched a deal with Union Pacific Rail that will allow the state to run passenger services for the next 25 years without paying a fee for use of Union’s tracks, which carry freight trains through northwest Colorado.  

The state hopes to have the first leg of the expanded rail line, which will provide daily service between Denver and Granby, running by November 2026. Officials say that service will be modeled after the Winter Park Express, with commuter trips in the morning and evening.