Retired Amtrak conductor Brad Swartzwelter has achieved minor celebrity since a story on his truck-by-train rail bridge idea to get semitrailers off Interstate 70 ran in The Gazette on March 15, with television appearances on the local network affiliates in Denver.

“Frenzy. That seems to be the reaction of everybody I meet nowadays. They want to talk about getting trucks off I-70,” Swartzwelter said by text Thursday. “They are not just interested; they are enthusiastically passionate.”

In fact, Swartzwelter — credited with helping to revive the increasingly popular Winter Park Express Ski Train — will be talking up his latest idea this weekend as he mans the Western Rail Coalition booth at the Rocky Mountain Train Show in Denver.

“Everybody seems to be begging me to find a way to make it actually happen. I have yet to meet a person who has told me that the price tag is too high, the benefits are too weak, or the concept is insignificant,” Swartzwelter said, referring to the $1 billion price tag for rail upgrades and the building of two specialized terminals on Union Pacific’s Moffat Line to load entire semitrailers onto flatbed railroad cars for transit through the Colorado mountains.

Swartzwelter anticipates removing up to 1,100 semis from the treacherous stretch of I-70 between Denver and Grand Junction that includes two 10,000-foot mountain passes, with truck drivers able to sleep during the nine-hour train ride in order to get federally mandated rest.

Omaha-based Class 1 railroad company Union Pacific, which owns the line that travels through the state-owned Moffat Tunnel and then follows the Colorado River to Utah, threw a bit of cold water on Swartzwelter’s idea, but was not a hard “no” on the concept.

“Union Pacific already offers a very robust shipping solution called intermodal that leverages the flexibility of trucks to handle the first and last miles of shipping while taking advantage of the many economic and environmental benefits of rail for the long haul,” Union Pacific senior manager of communications Mike Jaixen wrote in an email.

“Our intermodal network includes terminals in both Denver and Salt Lake City and provides connections not only throughout the entire United States but also Canada and Mexico. As for the concept of transporting truck drivers along with their trucks, Union Pacific’s agreement with Amtrak does not allow us to transport passengers.”

The federal passenger rail company Amtrak pays Union Pacific to use the Moffat line for both its long-distance California Zephyr between Chicago and California’s Bay Area and the seasonal Winter Park Express ski train from Denver’s Union Station to the city-owned ski area.

With growing anger from mountain towns over the frequent closures on I-70 due to jackknifed semis and other crashed vehicles, especially during the winter months, the issue has been top of mind for the Colorado Department of Transportation officials lately.

Asked to comment on the truck by train rail bridge idea, a CDOT spokesperson responded: “Shippers can choose to ship by truck or rail, and these choices are a matter for the private sector, but we are always happy to hear about innovative options and new ways to move products to save people money and better protect our environment.”

The state’s own analysis claims that every hour I-70 is shut down costs an estimated $2 million in economic activity. In 2024, there were 99 full closures totaling 161 hours and costing communities and the state more than $300 million.

A spokesperson for the trucking lobby Colorado Motor Carriers Association did not return an email requesting comment on the idea. A new study by the personal-injury law firm J&Y Law ranks Colorado as the 10th-most-dangerous state for truck drivers in the spring months, with more than 77 fatal crashes per 100,000 drivers.

Glenwood Springs City Council member Jonathan Godes, who is to become executive director of the I-70 Coalition, was quoted in the Gazette story, and said he’s received a lot of positive public input.

“I have gotten quite a bit of positive feedback. It is such an innovative idea that does more than just move the needle; it could be a game changer.”

Adding that the I-70 Coalition in the past has been supportive of increased fines for truckers who ignore the state’s chain law, Godes said he hopes to get a rail bridge presentation to the group’s membership in the future.

Vail Resorts, the Broomfield-based ski company with several resorts reliant on the I-70 corridor, declined to comment on the bridge concept, instead referring to a previous statement endorsing the push for mountain passenger rail:

“As demonstrated by our support of the Eagle Valley Regional Transit Authority, Vail Resorts is supportive of solutions that make it safe and easy for people to access work and the outdoors.”

Swartzwelter said he’ll continue to advocate for the idea that’s based on a successful model in Austria called ROLA.

“The good news is a tentative plan to have a meeting with members of the Colorado state legislature is planned for this June,” Swartzwelter said. “If that goes well, we will hopefully do a formal study of the idea in the near future. If all goes perfectly, Interstate 70 could be relieved of over 1,000 trucks a day by the winter of 2028-29.”