The San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad, owned by Permian Basin Railways, Inc., cut the ribbon inaugurating their Alamosa to La Veta trip on Thursday, February 9, 2006. At this time, the railroad plans to operate daily excursion service between La Veta, Alamosa and Antonito, CO, from about Memorial Day to sometime in October. At Antonito there is a connection to the Cumbres & Toltec Railroad between Antonito and Chama, NM.

Preliminary plans are for the train to arrive in La Veta from Alamosa about 12:30 pm, allow the passengers an hour-and-a-half to wander La Veta, have lunch, and return for departure at 2:00 pm, unless, of course, folks decide to stay over in La Veta and return to Alamosa on another day. It will also be possible to begin the excursion in La Veta and return the next day or later.

Permian Basin Railroad president Ed Ellis was on board the ribbon-cutting train and he and several of his people spoke to the gathering at the La Veta station. The local turn-out for the event was excellent and a lot of enthusiasm was generated for this venture. There was also a lot of media present and their resulting articles and news coverage have already begun to generate inquiries as to schedules, rates and reservations (none of which is carved in stone yet - as soon as we know, we'll post it here).

Today's San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad was originally the Denver & Rio Grande, chartered in 1870. Arriving in La Veta in 1876, tracks were laid over "Old" La Veta Pass in 1877 and reached Alamosa on July 6, 1878. By 1880, tracks reached Antonito and eventually pushed on to Santa Fe, NM and Silverton, CO. The D&RG also built west from Alamosa to South Fork and reached its' terminus in Creede in 1881.

Fares can be arranged from these schedules, as shown below (although everything in the schedules below is still tentative and not yet carved in stone). Reservations can be made by calling 1-877-7CO-RAIL. On-line ticketing will be available by late April. For those staying longer in the San Luis Valley, the Mountain Pass is a great opportunity, offering unlimited travel on the La Veta Pass Route and one complete round trip between Antonito and Chama on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad.