The Denver Gazette reports that the Front Range Passenger Rail District has unveiled the branding for its planned Colorado Connector passenger service, affectionately dubbed “CoCo.” The train does not yet carry passengers, but it already has a “welcoming, optimistic and distinctly Colorado” personality, plus a red fox mascot wearing a Colorado-flag bandanna. Because naturally, the first thing a multibillion-dollar transportation proposal needs is emotional branding.
The initial Denver-to-Fort Collins service is targeted for 2029, with three daily round trips and eight stations. That starter phase carries an estimated $333 million capital price tag, with another $25 million to $35 million projected in annual operating costs. A full build-out to Pueblo could cost between $3 billion and $3.5 billion, potentially requiring a sales-tax measure. But relax. The fox is approachable.
The Bullet Point Brief
- CoCo is supposed to run mostly on existing freight lines between Front Range communities, beginning with Denver to Fort Collins. Translation: the train has to work around the freight trains that already own the schedule.
- The starter service is planned for three round trips per day beginning in 2029. Miss one, and congratulations, you have discovered the freedom of waiting.
- The first phase is estimated at $333 million, while full build-out could reach $3.5 billion. That is quite a cover charge for a transportation option serving a limited slice of Colorado.
- Officials project annual operating costs of $25 million to $35 million. The article does not say what the branding package cost, who designed it or how many consultants were required to determine that a fox is intelligent.
- Riders and skeptics are already raising practical questions about ridership, local connections and whether passengers will need an Uber after getting off the train. Government has answered with a mascot.
My Bottom Line
Reliable infrastructure is serious business. It is expensive, complicated and unforgiving. That is exactly why unveiling a “brand identity and personality” before delivering the service feels like classic Colorado government theater. We have the vibe deck before the train, the mascot before the ridership and the adjectives before the answers.
Normal Coloradans sitting in traffic on I-25 do not need a train with a personality. They need more transportation capacity and leaders willing to show the receipts. What will this cost taxpayers? Who pays the operating losses? How many people will actually ride it? What happens when freight schedules limit service? How does a rider get from the station to anywhere useful?
Maybe passenger rail can play a role somewhere in Colorado’s transportation system. But this governor and the planning class treat the choo-choo like a boyhood dream with a public-financing department. Three trips a day and a fox in a bandanna do not constitute a serious statewide mobility strategy.
Colorado does not need CoCo to feel welcoming and optimistic. Colorado needs transportation officials who can answer adult questions before they introduce us to the mascot.
Source: The Denver Gazette
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