Would passenger rail service among Front Range cities energize the state and local economies?

That's one of the major questions the Colorado Department of Transportation wants answered in a study it wants done this year.

The highway department is advertising for a formal analysis on passenger-rail service and intends to award the contract by Aug. 2.

It's all part of the mission of the Southwest Chief & Front Range Passenger Rail Commission, which state lawmakers supported with a $2.5 million commitment this year.

It was created to protect and improve the use of Amtrak's Southwest Chief passenger train from Chicago to Los Angeles, but it has expanded its work to look at establishing rail service along the Front Range as well.

What passenger rail service would look like between Pueblo and cities to the north — and how it would affect highway use and other transportation questions — would be covered by the study.

CDOT officials expect the population along the Front Range to grow from 5 million people to more than 6.6 million over the next 25 years.

"As our population grows, the Interstate 25 corridor will continue to be a vital link for our economy," said Jill Gaebler, chairman of the Southwest Chief Commission.

One reason state lawmakers broadened the purpose of the commission is that state and federal lawmakers in Colorado, Kansas and New Mexico have been battling with President Donald Trump's administration to keep supporting rail improvements on the Southwest Chief line across those three states.

Last year, the administration surprised those states by reversing course, saying it would withhold previously approved grant money, claiming further investment in passenger service wasn't justified by use.

That led to a bipartisan legislative push by senators and congressmen in those states to get the Trump administration to keep previous commitments. That change came earlier this year.

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Twitter: @RoperPeter