RTD Press Release

Today, the Regional Transportation District is marking the 15th anniversary of light rail opening in the metro area. Since RTD opened the 5.3-mile Central Light Rail Line October 7, 1994, RTD’s 35-mile light rail system has carried nearly 150 million passenger trips.

The light rail network carries an average of about 60,000 passenger trips every weekday, ahead of ridership projections. All four of RTD’s light rail lines were built on time and on budget, and each exceeded ridership projections.

RTD Chairman Lee Kemp said, “The 15th Anniversary of light rail in the metro area is yet another milestone among the many RTD has surpassed, with many more to come. The importance of providing rapid transit service, including the full FasTracks system, to meet the current and future needs of the region cannot be overstated.”

In an effort to help address traffic congestion and growing pains, in 1994 the Regional Transportation District (RTD) succeeded in opening the Denver metro region’s first light rail line. The 5.3-mile Central Corridor Line cost $116.5 million and was fully funded by RTD. Shortly after opening, ridership surpassed 17,000 daily boardings, 3,000 more than anticipated. The Central Corridor allowed RTD to remove 400 bus trips per day from downtown city streets. The new line not only demonstrated the success of light rail in the metro area but also provided the backbone of the planned regional light rail system.

RTD added the 8.7-mile Southwest line in July 2000, connecting with the cities of Sheridan, Englewood and Littleton. The 2-mile Central Platte Valley/C-Line was added in April 2002, providing service to the Auraria Campus, Invesco Field at Mile High, the Pepsi Center, and Denver Union Station (DUS), just two blocks from Coors Field. The 19-mile Southeast Line down I-25 from Broadway with a spur on I-225 to Parker Road, part of the T-REX Project, opened in November 2006.

Southwest Corridor
Once metro area residents saw how successful light rail could be, surrounding communities clamored for more. In May 1995 RTD received a Full Funding Grant Agreement in the amount of $120 million for the $177 million Southwest Corridor line. The line opened in July 2000, adding 8.7 miles of light rail and 5 stations, bringing suburban commuters from the Englewood, Sheridan and Littleton areas into downtown Denver. This was the first light rail line running from a suburban area to downtown. Ridership exceeded projections by nearly 70 percent on opening day and continues at levels above projections.

The City of Englewood took the opportunity to redevelop the all-but abandoned Cinderella City shopping center, which once housed 1.35 million square feet of retail space, into a Transit Oriented Development (TOD) village. Utilizing a pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use concept that combined retail, entertainment, residential, office, civic and open space elements, the RTD Englewood Light Rail Station was the cornerstone to its success. A former department store was transformed into the new Englewood City Center, housing City Hall, the Library and the Museum of Outdoor Arts. The Englewood City Center community is now an international model for TOD.

Central Platte Valley/C-Line
RTD took a big step in public-private partnerships when it opened the Central Platte Valley (CPV) light rail line in April 2002. Two miles in length with four additional stations, the CPV, now designated as the C-Line, provides riders with service to Denver Union Station.
RTD’s funding partners for the $47.8 million C-Line light rail included DRCOG, the City and County of Denver, and private stakeholders, including the Denver Broncos, Colorado Rockies, Six Flags/Elitch Gardens, Lower Downtown District, Auraria Higher Education Center, Pepsi Center, and the Trillium Corporation. Daily boardings were again ahead of projections, and special event service is well ahead of projections. With the opening of the CPV line, 35,000 students could take light rail to the Auraria Higher Education Center, home to the Community College of Denver, Metropolitan State College of Denver and the University of Colorado at Denver.

The C-Line made Denver the only city with all major pro sports venues served by one light rail line. Fans of the Colorado Avalanche, Denver Broncos, Colorado Rockies, Denver Nuggets, and Colorado Mammoth can take light rail to root for their teams. Denver Union Station became the focal point of the new line, with riders able to take light rail all the way to lower downtown and DUS. Ridership opening day exceeded projections by 61 percent. RTD’s 16th Street Mall Shuttle service was extended to Union Station to connect with C-Line.

With the opening of the C Line, a color coding system was introduced to differentiate Denver’s light rail lines. The new CPV extension became the “C” or “Orange” Line, while the Central Corridor line through downtown was named the “D” or “Green” line. The historic Denver Union Station was purchased to coincide with the opening of the C-Line. The Station was acquired by RTD in 2001 in partnership with the City and County of Denver, the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Denver Regional Council of Governments. The station and surrounding acreage is being transformed into a transportation hub serving current and future needs of commuters, residents, and tourists.

Southeast Line/T-REX
The light rail portion of the T-REX project, the Southeast Light Rail Line, along I-25 to Lincoln Avenue includes a total of 19 miles of new light rail. T-REX was a partnership between RTD and the Colorado Department of Transportation, which widened the highway along this same corridor. Of T-REX’s $1.67 billion budget, the light rail portion was $879 million (including $525 million in federal funding) and finished $2 million under budget. The Southeast Light Rail Line opened 13 additional stations, with park-n-Rides providing a total of 6,000 parking spaces, and linked the existing system from Denver through the municipalities of Greenwood Village, Centennial, Lone Tree and Aurora. Ridership exceeds year 2020 projections.

FasTracks
The region’s recognition of the importance that passenger rail will play in helping to address mobility needs, traffic concerns, smart growth and “green” transit options in the rapidly growing metro area led to RTD developing the comprehensive FasTracks rapid transit expansion program. Overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2004, FasTracks is RTD’s voter-approved transit program to expand rail and bus service throughout the RTD service area. FasTracks will build 122 miles of commuter rail and light rail, 18 miles of bus rapid transit service, add 21,000 new parking spaces, redevelop Denver Union Station and redirect bus service to better connect the eight-county District. The FasTracks investment initiative is projected to create more than 10,000 jobs during the height of construction `and will pump billions of dollars into the regional economy.

West Corridor Light Rail Line
The West Corridor Light Rail Line, the first FasTracks line, is well under construction, with RTD having received a $308 million full funding grant agreement in January from the Federal Transit Administration for the $634.7 million line. Opening in 2013, the West Corridor adds 12 stations and 12.1 miles of light rail running from DUS through Denver, Lakewood, and Golden, ending at the Jefferson County Government Center.

Eagle P3 Project
RTD just issued the request for proposals (RFP) for the Eagle P3 project, the public-private partnership (P3) venture that will complete several FasTracks projects through one collective contract. As planned, the RFP was delivered to three pre-qualified teams on September 30.

The $2.3 billion Eagle P3 Project will design, build, finance, operate and maintain the commuter rail lines of the East Corridor from Denver Union Station to Denver International Airport, the Gold Line to Arvada and Wheat Ridge, a short segment of the Northwest Rail Corridor to Westminster and the commuter rail maintenance facility. In 2008, RTD short-listed three teams to compete for the P3 contract. Proposals from the bidding teams are due in spring 2010, and RTD expects to make a decision on selecting a final team in June 2010.

A growing number of public entities are pursuing public-private partnerships as a way to benefit from upfront private equity to help build major infrastructure projects. While P3 projects are more common internationally, RTD’s Eagle P3 Project represents a unique model for a major transit project in the United States.

More FasTracks
In addition, the FasTracks program is moving forward with the I-225 Corridor, the North Metro Corridor, Northwest Rail, the US 36 Corridor, the extensions to the Southwest and Southeast Lines, and the Denver Union Station redevelopment.