RTD’s $143.8-million deal with BNSF locks down FasTracks property

Written by jrood

Denver's RTD has reached a total $143.8-million agreement with BNSF that will move progress forward on two FasTracks corridors to Arvada/Wheat Ridge and Westminster, Colo., according to a column by Kevin Flynn in InDenver Times. The comprehensive agreement includes $102.7 million for the outright purchase of railroad right-of-way for the Gold Line and several miles of the Northwest Rail FasTracks corridors; a lump sum of $36.9 million in relocation funding for BNSF to move and replace its facilities that are in the way of RTD's projects; up to $4 million in direct reimbursements of BNSF's other costs for additional construction or relocation that may occur incidental to the projects and $200,000 for title insurance, closing costs and escrow fees.

Just as importantly, the
negotiations included a Joint Corridor Use Agreement that will govern how RTD
and BNSF will conduct their respective activities along the shared corridors,
where BNSF will continue to serve its freight customers.

The purchase and
agreement will come to the full RTD Board March 23 for a review and a vote. RTD
has been negotiating these issues with BNSF for several years.

The property to be
acquired by RTD includes BNSF-owned right-of-way out of
Denver Union Station
and up through Utah Junction east of Pecos Street around 56th Avenue, where
various BNSF and Union Pacific railroad branches diverge; the BNSF Golden
Subdivision, which leaves Utah Junction to the west – sometimes called "The
Beer Line" because of the freight service in and out of the Coors Brewery; and
land along the BNSF Boulder Subdivision from Utah Junction to around 72nd
Avenue and Lowell Boulevard in Westminster.

RTD would also purchase
BNSF property beyond the currently planned end-of-line station at Ward Road in
Wheat Ridge that would allow RTD to extend the commuter line into Golden in the
future. That last segment to Westminster is property on which RTD plans to get
a starter segment of the Northwest Rail Corridor built under a larger
privatization plan, called
Eagle P3, for the Gold Line and the East Corridor commuter rail to Denver
International Airport
.

The name Eagle P3 is
derived from its elements – East Corridor Gold Line Public Private Partnership.
It is a key project
delivery mechanism through which RTD plans to lower its upfront need for
construction capital
. The
private sector partner brings its own equity to the table and the transit
agency spreads out its own costs over a 40-year operating contract for payments
to the concessionaire. RTD would maintain control over all aspects affecting
the public including fares, schedule, maintenance and the like – similar to how
it controls those aspects of bus service currently provided by private
companies.

RTD will soon receive
proposals from two private consortiums competing for an agreement of 40 years
to privately finance, design, build, operate and maintain the Arvada/Wheat
Ridge and DIA lines. The package would include construction and operation of a
commuter rail maintenance facility on Fox Street north of 48th Avenue and the south
Westminster segment of Northwest Rail.

The short segment of
Northwest Rail would be electrified, like the Gold Line and East Corridor,
although the eventual length of Northwest Rail – FasTracks’ longest at 41 miles
to Broomfield, Louisville, Boulder and Longmont – would be served by
self-propelled diesel-powered passenger cars.

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