R Line (RTD)

R Line (RTD)
Future R Line at the intersection of East Exposition Ave & South Sable Boulevard
Overview
Type	Light rail
System	Regional Transportation District
Status	Under Construction
Locale	Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area
Termini	Peoria Lincoln
Stations	16
Operation
Opened	November 17, 2006 (Original G Line)
Closed	May 3, 2009 (Original G Line)
Owner	Regional Transportation District
Operator(s)	Regional Transportation District
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	Overhead lines
Route diagram Legend A Line to Denver International Airport Peoria  A  (2016) Fitzsimons (2016) Colfax (2016) I-225 13th Avenue (2016) 2nd & Abilene (2016) Aurora Metro Center (2016) Florida (2016) Iliff (2016) I-225 Nine Mile  H  Dayton I-25  E  F  H  Belleview Orchard Arapahoe at Village Center Dry Creek County Line SH 470 / E-470 Lincoln  E  F  Sky Ridge Medical Center (2019) I-25 Lone Tree City Center (2019) RidgeGate Parkway (2019)

The R Line or Aurora Line/I-225 Rail^[1] is a Regional Transportation District (RTD) light rail line currently under construction in Aurora, Colorado. When the line opens, it will travel over existing portions of the RTD Light Rail system to serve stations in neighboring Denver, Greenwood Village, Centennial and Lone Tree.^[2] The line was designated as the “R” line, reflecting the letter R’s in “Aurora” and “Ridgegate”.^[3]

History

November 17, 2006 saw the completion of the Southeast Corridor light rail project (part of the Transportation Expansion Project). One of the four routes that were part of the RTD’s service plan for the corridor, the route between Aurora and Lone Tree, was named the “G Line” and assigned the color brown.^[4] It was the only line in the RTD Light Rail system not serving downtown Denver, and one of very few tangential (“suburb to suburb”) rail transit lines in the United States. The G Line’s northern terminus was at Nine Mile Station in Aurora on the I-225 branch of the system, shared with the H Line, while its southern terminus was at Lincoln Avenue Station in Lone Tree, shared with the E and F Lines.

In August 2007, night, Saturday, Sunday and holiday service on this route was discontinued due to low ridership. An exception was the lone northbound Owl service trip on weekend and holiday mornings. Service was further reduced to peak hour-only in August 2008 before being suspended entirely on May 3, 2009.^[5]

FasTracks changes

I-225 Rail Line

The 2004 voter-approved FasTracks initiative will mark the return of the Aurora-Lone Tree Line. The I-225 Corridor will be a new 10.5-mile (16.9 km) light rail line running through Aurora and facilitate a circumferential link between the Southeast Corridor and the East Corridor. The project will include seven new stations and provide 1,800 new parking spaces. Construction began in spring 2012 on a short section of the line as part of a joint contract with the Colorado Department of Transportation. Following an unsolicited proposal from Kiewit Infrastructure Company, funding was secured for the full line, which was expected to open in winter 2016.^[6] The opening date was later pushed back.^[7]

Southeast Corridor Extension

Regional Transportation District sent four teams a Request for Proposal for the Southeast Corridor extension, consisting of 2.3 miles (3.7 km) of new track south of Lincoln and three new stations: Sky Ridge Medical Center, Lone Tree City Center, and the terminus at RidgeGate Parkway.^[8] On July 28, 2015, a design-build contract for the extension was awarded to Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Inc. Design on the extension will start in fall 2015, with construction starting in spring 2016, followed by opening in early 2019.^[9]

Route

The R Line will travel south from Peoria Station in northwest Aurora, predominantly following Interstate 225 through central Aurora to Belleview Station in southeast Denver. It will then follow Interstate 25 to its terminus at Lincoln Station in Lone Tree.

Stations

References