Cheyenne Mayor Announces New Passenger Rail Commission

Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins on Monday announced the formation of a new passenger rail commission.

According to a post on the City of Cheyenne's Facebook page, the purpose of the commission will be to ''help provide guidance and oversight for establishing passenger rail service in Cheyenne and serve as a local contact point for regional efforts.'' 

Cheyenne has not had passenger rail service since 1997. The commission would specifically work on linking Cheyenne to passenger rail service with Colorado's Front Range, ''working directly with Colorado’s Front Range Passenger Rail District'' in the words of the release.  Colorado established the Front Range Passenger Rail District in 2021.

The purpose of the district is to oversee the development of passenger rail along the I-25 corridor between Wyoming and New Mexico. The state of Wyoming already has an ex-officio representative.

According to the release, the mayor has named the following people to serve on the Passenger Rail Commission:

• Jeff Noffsinger, Cheyenne MPO Director
• Charles Bloom, Cheyenne Planning and Development Department Director
• Renee Smith, City of Cheyenne Grants Manager
• Dan Kline, WYDOT Systems Planning and Railroads
• Dale Steenbergen, Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce
• Ken Esquibel, Cheyenne City Councilmember
• Gunnar Malm, Laramie County Commissioner
• Rep. Landon Brown, Wyoming House of Representatives
• Justin Arnold, Laramie County Planning and Development Director
• Steve Borin, Cheyenne citizen representative

The commission’s first meeting is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 15, at 10 a.m.