Type Light rail Termini Peoria
Lincoln Electrification Overhead line | Status Open Stations 16 | |
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System Regional Transportation District Locale Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area Owner Regional Transportation District | ||
The R Line or Aurora Line/I-225 Rail is a Regional Transportation District (RTD) light rail line that opened on February 24, 2017. The line travels over newer and older portions of the RTD Light Rail system to serve stations in Aurora, Denver, Greenwood Village, Centennial and Lone Tree. The line was designated as the “R” line, reflecting the letter R’s in “Aurora” and “Ridgegate”.
Contents
The R Line is preceded by the G Line, which operated from 2006 to 2009 along the southern half of the route. Like the former G Line, the R Line is the only line in the RTD rail system not serving downtown Denver.
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. 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.
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. The opening date was later pushed back. On January 30, 2017, RTD announced that the H and R Lines would begin service on February 24, 2017.
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. 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.
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 Lincoln Station in Lone Tree. It will be extended south to RidgeGate Parkway, along with the E and F lines on the Southeast Coridor, in 2019.