Type Commuter Rail | Website Official website | |
 | ||
System Regional Transportation District Status Operating in truncated segment Termini Union Station
Westminster (initial)
Downtown Longmont (proposed) Stations 2 (initial segment)
8 (proposed) Owner Regional Transportation District Locale Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Statistical Area | ||
The B Line, also known as the Northwest Rail Line during construction, is a commuter rail line which is part of the commuter and light rail system operated by the Regional Transportation District in the Denver Metropolitan Area in Colorado. Part of the FasTracks project, the first 6.2-mile (10 km) section from downtown Denver to south Westminster opened on July 25, 2016. When fully built out the B Line will be a 41-mile (66 km) high-capacity route from Denver Union Station to Longmont, passing through North Denver, Adams County, Westminster, Broomfield, Louisville and Boulder.
Contents
Route
The B Line's southern terminus is at Union Station in Denver. It runs on a railroad right-of-way north sharing track with the G Line until the Pecos Station after which the two routes diverge. Initially, the B Line continues north to its terminus at Westminster Station; this shuttle route is completed in approximately 11 minutes. It will not stop at either the 41st & Fox station or the Pecos Junction Station, both served by the G Line.
FasTracks
In 2004, Colorado voters approved FasTracks, a multibillion-dollar public transportation expansion plan. The first segment of the B Line is under construction as part of the Eagle P3 project and is expected to open in 2016. The remaining segment, extending to downtown Longmont, will require additional funding in order to be completed prior to 2044. The announcement angered many voters in the cities and suburbs north of Denver, who had approved a sales tax increase in 2004 to fund the FasTracks project.
The downturn in the economy and significant cost increases and delays associated with building and operating Northwest Rail led to the initiation of the year-long "Northwest Area Mobility Study". This collaboration between northwest area governments and transportation partners created an alternative to the voter-approved commuter rail plan in order improve transportation in the short-term around the northwest area. The study concluded in 2014 and made a number of recommendations that were adopted by the RTD Board of Directors in June 2014 including a bus rapid transit system along U.S. Route 36 between Denver and Boulder. This new system has been criticized as bus rapid transit creep.