Granby’s Amtrak train station is nearing the completion of some major upgrades.

When the work is finished this December, the station will have an 800-foot platform equipped with snowmelt technology, improved accessible parking and other accessibility-focused enhancements to bring it into compliance with the American Disabilities Act, according to Amtrak spokesperson Marc Magliari.

The construction work is an investment of about $7 million, funded through the Federal Railroad Administration, and is part of Amtrak’s goal to provide accessibility at 100% of its stations by 2029, Magliari said.

Construction superintendent Brent Hammans at Krische Construction, a contractor for Amtrak, said the platform is right on track after workers poured concrete for the retaining wall and platform.

“The platform is complete from one end of the station to the other, and soon I’ll do my final completion walk,” he said. “So we’re at the punch list stage right now, and we’re just wrapping up little things here and there.”

Once the platform is ready, the next step is to get a transformer from Mountain Parks Electric installed to power up a snow melt system in the platform, which Hammans said would be done by mid-December before the entire project wraps up by the end of the year. 

19 stations across the nation were brought into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act since last September, Magliari said, and another 50 stations are targeted for completion in the next year at a forecasted investment of $310 million.

Located at 438 Railroad Ave, the Granby station is served by the California Zephyr route, which starts in Chicago and passes through Omaha, Denver and Salt Lake City before ending in Emeryville, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California.

Currently, the only train option between Granby and Denver is through the California Zephyr, which has an eastbound stop at the Granby station once a day at 2:44 p.m. and a westbound stop, also once a day, at 11:22 a.m.

The Amtrak improvements are in the final stages while the Colorado Department of Transportation is also implementing a major plan to extend rail service through its Colorado Mountain Rail project that could extend the Granby station’s use. 

The state initiative plans to develop a large network of passenger rail lines that connect mountain towns and regions with urban centers and recreational locations. It will use the existing rail line that extends from Denver to Craig to respond to a growing demand for rail services, according to the department of transportation.

Maux Sullivan, assistant director of CDOT’s Division of Transit & Rail, said the first roundtrip is slated for November 2026 and will send a train from Denver Union Station to Granby each morning before returning to Denver that evening. 

Once this roundtrip is implemented in November 2026, CDOT will begin a second roundtrip. The second train route will depart from Granby in the morning for Denver, then return to Granby in the evening. This trip aims to provide a public transit option for Grand County residents spending the day on the Front Range.