RTD rail service to Denver airport to begin April 2016

Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor
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RTD

Denver's Regional Transportation District (RTD) received notice from Denver Transit Partners that the University of Colorado A Line commuter rail service from Denver Union Station to Denver International Airport (DIA) will be ready for service on April 22, 2016.

 

The RTD University of Colorado A Line is 23 miles of new electric commuter rail, which is part of the Eagle P3 project, the nation’s first full public-private partnership for transit. Local RTD taxes combined with a $1.03-billion federal grant and $450 million from Denver Transit Partners, which will build, operate and maintain the trains, make up the $2.2-billion project.

“This project has been made possible through regional collaboration. None of this could have happened without the cooperation and teamwork from our partners who have worked tirelessly to deliver a quality project that will take public transit in the Denver metro area to the next level,” said RTD Board Chair Chuck Sisk.

“The opening of the University of Colorado A Line is a historic milestone towards the completion of RTD’s FasTracks program and continues our success rate of opening major infrastructure projects,” said Dave Genova, interim general manager and chief executive officer of RTD. “We continue to transform the region and the University of Colorado A Line will connect the Denver metro area to the world.”

The line, which will use new rail cars that will have a top speed of 79 mph and will be able to carry 200 people at maximum, will serve eight stations, including Denver Union Station and the new Denver Airport Station located at the south terminal at DIA serving airport travelers and guests of the Westin Denver International Airport Hotel.

“The start of RTD’s commuter rail service to DIA is a game changer for the airport,” said Kim Day, CEO of DIA. “This will put us on par with the world’s leading airports as many of our international passengers are used to access to the world’s great cities via rail.”

 

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