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R Line (RTD)

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R Line
 R 
R Line tracks at the intersection of E Exposition Av and S Sable Bl prior to operation
Overview
OwnerRegional Transportation District
LocaleDenver metropolitan area
Termini
Stations19
Service
TypeLight rail
SystemRTD Rail
Operator(s)Regional Transportation District
History
OpenedNovember 17, 2006 (Original G Line)
ClosedMay 3, 2009 (Original G Line)
ReopenedFebruary 24, 2017 (R Line)
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
ElectrificationOverhead line, 750 V DC
Route map
Map
R Line highlighted in green
Legend
  A 
to Denver Airport
 Peoria
 A 
 Fitzsimons
Colfax
I-225.svg I-225
 13th Avenue
2nd Avenue & Abilene
Aurora Metro Center
Florida
 H 
 Iliff
I-225.svg I-225
Nine Mile
Dayton
I-25.svg I-25
 E  H 
 Belleview
Orchard
Arapahoe at Village Center
Dry Creek
County Line
Colorado 470 wide.svgE470.svg SH 470 / E-470
 Lincoln
Sky Ridge
(suspended)
I-25.svg I-25
 Lone Tree City Center
(suspended)
 RidgeGate Parkway
 E 
(suspended)
This diagram:

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]

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.

Service south of Florida station was suspended from June 2023 until October 2023 due to maintenance works on the Southeast Corridor between I-25/Broadway station and Lincoln station. This project is temporarily paused until May 2024. The R Line is and will continue running the full route between Peoria and Lincoln, however it will see limited service in the evenings throughout the rest of the project.

History

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G Line service (2006–2009)

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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

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Main article: FasTracks

I-225 Rail Line

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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

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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

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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. Due to low ridership, the R Line was cut back to Lincoln Station, no longer serving Sky Ridge, Lone Tree City Center, and RidgeGate Parkway Stations.

Stations

[edit]
Station Municipality Opened Interchange
Peoria Aurora April 22, 2016  A 
Park and ride: 550 spaces
Fitzsimons February 24, 2017
Colfax Bus interchange Flatiron Flyer
13th Avenue Park and ride: 262 spaces
2nd Avenue & Abilene Park and ride: 242 spaces
Aurora Metro Center Park and ride: 145 spaces
Florida  H 
Iliff  H 
Park and ride: 600 spaces
Nine Mile November 17, 2006  H 
Park and ride: 1,225 spaces
Dayton  H 
Park and ride: 250 spaces
Belleview Denver  E 
Park and ride: 817 spaces
Orchard Greenwood Village  E 
Park and ride: 48 spaces
Arapahoe at Village Center  E 
Park and ride: 817 spaces
Dry Creek Centennial  E 
Park and ride: 235 spaces
County Line Lone Tree  E 
Park and ride: 388 spaces
Lincoln  E 
Park and ride: 1,734 spaces
Sky Ridge May 17, 2019 R Line service suspended
 E 
Lone Tree City Center R Line service suspended
 E 
RidgeGate Parkway R Line service suspended
 E 
Park and ride: 1,300 spaces

References

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  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". No. 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. ^ a b 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.
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