R Line (RTD)

The R Line or Aurora Line/I-225 Rail[1] is a Regional Transportation District (RTD) light rail line that serves stations in Aurora, Denver, Greenwood Village, Centennial and Lone Tree.[2] Opening on February 24, 2017, the line was designated as the “R” line, reflecting the letter R’s in “Aurora” and “Ridgegate”.[3]

R Line
R Line tracks at the intersection of East Exposition Ave and South Sable Boulevard prior to operation
Overview
Status	Open
Owner	Regional Transportation District
Locale	Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area
Termini	Peoria RidgeGate Parkway
Stations	19
Service
Type	Light rail
System	Regional Transportation District
Operator(s)	Regional Transportation District
History
Opened	November 17, 2006 (Original G Line) February 24, 2017 (R Line)
Closed	May 3, 2009 (Original G Line)
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	Overhead lines, 750 V DC
Route diagram  A  to Denver Airport Peoria  A  Fitzsimons Colfax I-225 13th Avenue Fare Zone Boundary 2nd Avenue & Abilene Aurora Metro Center Florida  H  Iliff I-225 Nine Mile Dayton I-25  E  F  H  Belleview Orchard Arapahoe at Village Center Dry Creek County Line SH 470 / E-470 Lincoln Sky Ridge I-25 Lone Tree City Center RidgeGate Parkway  E  F

The line travels over newer and older portions of the RTD Light Rail system. The R Line was preceded by the G Line, which operated from 2006 to 2009 along the southern half of the route. The R Line is the only line in the RTD rail system not serving downtown Denver.

History

G Line service (2006–2009)

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] 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 relaunch

I-225 Rail Line

The 2004 voter-approved FasTracks initiative marked the return of the Aurora-Lone Tree Line. The I-225 Corridor is a 10.5-mile (16.9 km) light rail line running through Aurora and facilitates 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] On January 30, 2017, RTD announced that the H and R Lines would begin service on February 24, 2017.[8]

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 station that would serve three new stations: Sky Ridge Medical Center, Lone Tree City Center, and the terminus at RidgeGate Parkway.[9][10] On July 28, 2015, a design-build contract for the extension was awarded to Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Inc. Design on the extension began in fall 2015 and construction began in 2016.[9][11] The extension opened on May 17, 2019.[12]

Route

The R Line travels south from Peoria Station in northwest Aurora, predominantly following Interstate 225 through central Aurora to Belleview Station in southeast Denver. It then follows Interstate 25 to its terminus at RidgeGate Parkway station in southern Lone Tree.

Stations

Name	Opening Year	Interchange	Municipality	Parking	Status
R Line (Peoria – RidgeGate)
Peoria	2016	A  Line	Aurora	Yes	Open
Fitzsimons	2017	None	Aurora	No	Open
Colfax	2017	None	Aurora	No	Open
13th Avenue	2017	None	Aurora	Yes	Open
2nd Avenue & Abilene	2017	None	Aurora	Yes	Open
Aurora Metro Center	2017	None	Aurora	Yes	Open
Florida	2017	H  Line	Aurora	No	Open
Iliff	2017	H  Line	Aurora	Yes	Open
Nine Mile	2006	H  Line	Aurora	Yes	Open
Dayton	2006	H  Line	Aurora	Yes	Open
Belleview	2006	E  &  F  Lines	Denver	Yes	Open
Orchard	2006	E  &  F  Lines	Greenwood Village	Yes	Open
Arapahoe at Village Center	2006	E  &  F  Lines	Greenwood Village	Yes	Open
Dry Creek	2006	E  &  F  Lines	Centennial	Yes	Open
County Line	2006	E  &  F  Lines	Lone Tree	Yes	Open
Lincoln	2006	E  &  F  Lines	Lone Tree	Yes	Open
Sky Ridge	2019	E  &  F  Lines	Lone Tree	No	Open
Lone Tree City Center	2019	E  &  F  Lines	Lone Tree	No	Open
RidgeGate Parkway	2019	E  &  F  Lines	Lone Tree	Yes	Open

References

1. "RTD - R Line". Regional Transportation District. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
2. "RTD - I-225 Rail Line". Regional Transportation District. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
3. "Aurora News Weekly" (July 13, 2015). City of Aurora, Colorado. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
4. "RTD 🇪🇭 Southeast Light Rail". Regional Transportation District. Archived from the original on October 24, 2007. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
5. Jeffrey Leib (January 13, 2009). "RTD plans to reduce service". The Denver Post. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
6. "FasTracks - I-225 Corridor". Regional Transportation District. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
7. Paul, Jesse (November 18, 2016). "RTD will not open G-Line or R-Line before end of year as planned". The Denver Post. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
8. "RTD". www3.rtd-denver.com. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
9. Aguilar, John (January 25, 2019). "Light-rail extension into Lone Tree set to start passenger service May 19". The Denver Post. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
10. "Southeast Rail Extension". Regional Transportation District. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
11. "Contract approved to extend Southeast Rail Line in Douglas County". RTD FasTracks. Regional Transportation District of Denver. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
12. Rubino, Joe (May 15, 2019). "RTD's newest line in southeast Denver metro will power development for years to come". The Denver Post. Retrieved May 17, 2019.

External links

• RTD R Line Schedule