Commuter’s dreams of taking a train from Boulder and Longmont to downtown Denver have languished in the background for almost 20 years of the Regional Transportation District’s metro area rail system.

But RTD is taking another look at a pared-down version of the idea and is hosting two public open houses to gather new information for the Northwest Rail Peak Service Study.

The study evaluates how best to provide peak period service on the route: three weekday morning trips from Longmont to Denver and three weekday evening trips from Denver to Longmont, according to an RTD news release.

“While we have faced challenges making the Northwest Rail a reality due to escalating costs and evolving train operation requirements and constraints, RTD is looking forward to showcasing progress on the study since we last engaged the public earlier this year,” said RTD Study Manager Patrick Stanley. “We hope community members join the conversation to learn more and provide input at the open house or online meeting. Your input and comments help the study team evaluate the feasibility of providing peak commuter train service between Denver and Longmont and help us identify and address issues that will improve the project’s design.”

Originally planned as a $791 million bus rapid transit and commuter rail project, poor cost estimating, and the 2007 recession sank the project after the line’s costs exploded to more than $1.5 billion. RTD rejected a proposal for a 2012 ballot issue to double the 0.4% FasTracks sales tax to 0.8% to pay the increased costs.

The U.S. 36 corridor plan called for running buses every 2-to-4 minutes and trains at 15-to-30-minute peak/off peak intervals.

Documents from RTD’s 2004 plan predicted the rail journey from Longmont to downtown Denver in 2025 would take 61 minutes, less than half of the 133 minutes predicted for single occupant vehicles. Ridership on the trains was estimated at between 8,600 and 10,100 passengers by 2025.

But the rail component of the plan never emerged due to the financial obstacles and right of way issues with the track owners, the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad Company, which proposed a lease plan in 2012 demanding an up-front payment of $535 million, more than eight times what RTD estimated when the FasTracks plan was approved by voters in 2004.

The first open house will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 8, at the Longmont Civic Center, 350 Kimbark St., Longmont.

The second open house will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9 at the Broomfield Community Center, 280 Spader Way, Broomfield, in the Lakeshore Room.

Both open house events will provide the same information.

Community members who are unable to attend one of the open houses can access the self-guided online meeting at https://northwestrailpeakservicestudyonlinemeeting.com/ anytime between Nov. 8 and Dec. 8, 2023. The same information from the open houses will be presented with the opportunity to provide feedback and submit questions. The self-guided online meeting will also be available in Spanish.