Colorado has received a federal infusion of $66.4 million in transportation funds to boost freight train safety and enable expansion along rail corridors northwest of Denver, setting up opportunities for passenger rail transit.

A state matching contribution of $28 million brings the total funds over $94 million for work cast as essential preparation for long-term rail system expansion. This means state authorities could start building track passing sidings, among other improvements, so that freight trains and passenger trains initially could share existing tracks between Denver and Fort Collins.

“This does more than just safety. It increases capacity,” Colorado Rail Passenger Association President Jack Wheeler said.

“It is ideal for a shared corridor where freight and passenger trains use the same right of way. We will be using the current tracks for the first phase of a passenger operation from Fort Collins to Pueblo.”

Gov. Jared Polis announced the funding Tuesday morning on a bluff near tracks in Westminster, flanked by Sen. Michael Bennet, U.S. Reps. Joe Neguse and Brittany Pettersen, Colorado Department of Transportation director Shoshana Lew, and other leaders. They hailed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding as a milestone toward a multi-agency effort to re-establish Front Range passenger transit using the Burlington Northern Santa Fe line north of Denver.

It shows that federal transportation officials “see the promise” of creating an intercity rail system, Lew said.

The Federal Rail Administration has included Colorado Front Range Passenger Rail as a transit corridor priority. Colorado has secured more than $400 million overall in competitive grant awards under the nation’s bipartisan infrastructure law.

“This helps accelerate the timeline,” said Polis, who has championed passenger rail transit linking Front Range cities.

“We’re going to do it as fast as we can.”

Building intercity passenger rail “requires us to think about what the future’s going to look like 25 years from now, 50 years from now, and even 100 years from now — like the people who built this rail infrastructure to begin with,” Bennet said in an interview.

But Colorado communities also face immediate safety challenges, Bennet said, pointing to the derailment in August of a mile-long freight train east of Boulder that damaged a bridge, spilled fuel, and injured two train operators.

“It’s important for us to make these investments when we have the chance to do it,” he said.

“Longer-term, we need to make sure we’re asking questions about how we build in ways that create a sustainable environment for our kids and grandkids.”