Type Commuter Rail Stations 9 (proposed) | Status Under Construction | |
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Locale Denver Metropolitan Area Termini Union StationEastlake/124th | ||
The N Line, also known as the North Metro 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 (RTD) in the Denver Metropolitan Area in Colorado. The first 13 miles (21 km) from downtown Denver to 124th Avenue in Thornton is under construction as part of the FasTracks expansion plan. When fully built out the line will be 18.5 miles (29.8 km) long and pass through Denver, Commerce City, Northglenn, and Thornton. The N Line will have Colorado's longest bridge at 9,533 feet called the Skyway Bridge.
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History
The possibilities and studies for a rail line in the North Metropolitan Denver have existed since the opening of the Light Rail Central Corridor in 1994. In the 2004 election year voters approved the North Metro Corridor as part of the RTD FasTracks expansion plan. In September 2006 the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was started, with completion in late 2010, and gaining approval by the Federal Transit Administration in April 2011. A preexisting railroad right-of-way for the line was purchased in 2009. Contract to build the North Metro Rail line to 124th Avenue was awarded to Graham, Balfour Beatty, Hamon Constructors (GBBH) November 2013 with notice to proceed in December 2013. The GBBH contract included an option that when funding available RTD can exercise option to build the line to 162nd Avenue. Groundbreaking of the N Line's construction occurred March 20, 2014 with expected completion in 2018.
Route
The N Line's southern terminus is at Union Station in Denver. It runs mostly on a preexisting railroad right-of-way to its northern terminus at Eastlake / 124th Station. A notable exception to using the existing railroad right-of-way is the RTD designated "Skyway Bridge" whose path takes it over and past several obstacles: it will cross the BNSF Railway railroad tracks, Brighton Boulevard, a Union Pacific Railroad spur track, the Farmers Reservoir and Irrigation Company (FRICO) Ditch, the Metro Waste Water Plant and Suncor oil processing site, Sand Creek, and Interstate 270.
FasTracks
In 2004 Colorado voters approved FasTracks, a multi-billion dollar public transportation expansion plan. In 2009 RTD paid $117 million to purchase the right-of-way from Union Pacific in preparation for the build out of the North Metro rail line. However with the global recession of 2009, the North Metro Corridor became a victim of financial setbacks and it was feared that the line would not be built until 2044. RTD was able to avoid further delaying the construction of the line when it accepted an unsolicited offer in 2013 to build out the full line in two stages. The first stage will build the line to the 124th Avenue Station with an opening in 2018, while the second stage to North Thornton / Hwy 7 Station will commence when projected ridership makes economic sense.