A $20 billion train to Vail?

Sometimes I think I’d like to live in Denver, so close to the resorts of Summit County, and not that far from Vail. And then the joy of the thought is interrupted by the realization that traffic to the mountains can be a bit uncomfortable.

There’s been talk in Colorado of creating a high-speed rail line to go from Golden (on the west side of the Denver metro) to Eagle County airport (which serves Vail), some 120 miles away. Fewer cars on the road and fewer exhausted skiers and snowboarders driving on that road. What’s not to like?

To start with, the $20 billion price tag, says John M. W. Aldridge, a traffic operations engineer, writing an op-ed in the Denver Post. Aldridge points out various limits of the project, and concludes, “The plan has two major problems. First, it’s going to take 20 years or more to implement, and second, it will do nothing meaningful to relieve the worst area of congestion from east of Idaho Springs to west of Georgetown.”

Should Colorado — can Colorado — build a train to address the problems imposed by ski traffic? What do you think?