The ski train was sidetracked after the 2009 season due to declining profits, the cost of insurance, and complexities of passenger service on the 62-mile stretch of rail heavily trafficked by freight trains.

A successful revival of the ski train was spurred, in part, by a two-weekend test in March 2015 when the resort and Amtrak offered more than 800 $75 round-trip, one-day tickets—and sold out of them. Following nearly 18 months of negotiations with track owner Union Pacific, Amtrak and Winter Park have the green light to put the train back on the rails.

Update:

In order for the ski train to return, a $3.5 million ADA-compliant loading platform needed to be constructed at the ski area near the West Portal of the Moffat Tunnel. Construction is already underway, thanks to a $1.5 million grant from the Colorado Transportation Commission, $100,000 from the City of Denver, $100,000 from the Town of Winter Park, and $1,000 from the Colorado Rail Passengers Association. The rest will be paid by Intrawest, which operates Winter Park ski area.

The 500-passenger Winter Park Express will run 26 round-trips every Saturday and Sunday, plus holiday Mondays in January and February, from Jan. 7 to Mar. 26. It will depart from Union Station in Denver at 7 a.m., and arrive at the resort around 9 a.m. The return train will leave the resort at 4:30 p.m., and arrive in Denver at 6:40 p.m.

Tickets go on sale at 8 a.m., Tuesday, Aug. 30 and will be $39 each way for adults; kids ages 2-12 will be half price with a ticketed adult. Resort and Amtrak officials said one-way tickets would allow passengers to book single or multi-day trips.

The Winter Park Express is billed as the only slopeside rail service in the country.