A press release from Amtrak; April 22, 2019:
New services and favorable snow conditions combine for success
WINTER PARK, Colo. – The Amtrak Winter Park Express trains set records for the service, including the most riders ever, in the 2019 season. Amtrak and Winter Park Resort leaders thank customers for choosing Amtrak to avoid traffic and to enjoy new features both aboard the train and at the resort named last year “Best in North America”.
More than 19,200 tickets were purchased for 32 round-trips for the season that ended last month, an increase of about 7% from the 2018 season and 8% from the inaugural season in 2017. More than 52,000 guests have taken the service in the partnership between Amtrak and the resort.
For the first time, Winter Park Express customers had snack and beverage service using a Superliner® Sightseer Lounge Car with windows that start at the floor level and wrap into the ceiling of the railcar. Once they arrived, customers enjoyed more than $30 million in capital investments at the resort that included a new 10-person gondola, upgraded snowmaking and a new base-area plaza. Another new lift is coming next season.
“We were blessed with great ski conditions as we looked out from the train to growing delays for drivers on I-70 and US-40,” said Amtrak Senior Director Rob Eaton. “We’ve made it even easier and even more fun to do a day, a weekend or more in Winter Park.”
“With the train’s continual growth in ridership, it’s been gratifying to see the incredible popularity of this Colorado institution for visitors on the Front Range, throughout the country, and beyond,” said C.A. Lane, Winter Park Vice President of Operations/Assistant General Manager. “Nowhere else in North America can you take a train from a major metropolitan city to the slopes of a world-class ski resort and we look forward to working with our good friends at Amtrak and the other railroads to continue to evolve this service for the future.”