Members of a commission exploring the viability of passenger train service across the Front Range briefed lawmakers Thursday on their work and prepared them for their coming legislative proposal to make their rail dreams a reality.

“Roads are not enough,” said Pueblo County Commissioner Sal Pace, who chairs the Southwest Chief & Front Range Passenger Rail Commission. “… I think congestion on our roads is proof in itself of the need for alternatives.”

Pace and his vice chair, Jacob Riger, who also serves as the long-range planning manager at the Denver Regional Council of Governments, said their preliminary plan is to seek out funding for any future projects outside of the legislature, through avenues like public-private partnerships, grants and/or a special district.

“There is no single magical funding source that;s going to make this happen,” Riger told the Transportation Legislation Review Committee, a mix of state senators and representatives.

The commission, which has met a handful of times, hasn’t yet identified a hard-and-fast price tag or a precise route for passenger rail service from Trinidad to Fort Collins. They remain in the exploration phase of technology options, engineering necessities and costs.

“We want to maximize the connection to RTD, other transportation systems along the Front Range,” Riger said.

Pace and Riger said any potential rail service, which remains years away, would boost connectivity between rural parts of the state and the Denver metro area, aiding, for instance, in Pueblo’s recovery from the Great Recession. They contend it would also be a boon for economic development and a draw for companies eyeing a move to Colorado.

“Our major competitors, particularly Utah and New Mexico, have these (passenger rail systems) and have had them for awhile,” said Rep. Diane Mitsch Bush, a Steamboat Springs Democrat who leads the review committee, in recognizing the commission’s work.

But some conservatives have bristled at the idea of paying large sums to make Front Range passenger rail service possible, and the legislature has been unable to break its impasse on funding for roads.

It would cost an estimated $1 billion to create the infrastructure for a route between Denver and Fort Collins alone, Pace said.

The commission is slated to submit draft legislation to lawmakers by Dec. 1, which will include proposals to continue and expand their work.