A Line (RTD)
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The A Line (formerly the University of Colorado A Line for sponsorship reasons)[5] is a Regional Transportation District (RTD) commuter rail line serving Denver and Aurora, Colorado, operating between downtown Denver and Denver International Airport (DIA).[6] During planning and construction, it was also known as the East Rail Line, but most locals refer to it as the A Line.[7] Despite its former title, the line does not serve the campuses of the University of Colorado.
History
RTD designated the line with the letter “A”, denoting service to the airport and Aurora. Groundbreaking for the A Line was held on August 26, 2010.[10] As the second line of RTD's FasTracks expansion plan, the East Corridor was constructed and operated under the Eagle P3 public–private partnership.[1] The first electric multiple unit railcars were pulled along the route on April 3, 2015, commencing testing and commissioning of the line.[11]
Revenue service began on April 22, 2016.[6][12]
Since the A line's opening in April 2016, there have been operational issues with the crossing gates due to software problems, resulting in frequent delays. Crossing arms have been coming down too early and staying down too long, causing traffic backups. RTD is making progress correcting this, along with the use of traffic guards, [13] earning the project a slot on Westword's 2016 Colorado Hall of Shame.[14] Also, the A Line shares crossings with Union Pacific tracks, adding to the complexity to the crossing gate's program and technology.
In June 2018, the FRA approved a plan to remove the flaggers monitoring the crossing gates along the A Line. This approval also allows local jurisdictions to submit requests to the FRA to establish "quiet zones", removing the need for trains crossing through the gates to blow their horns.[15] As of February 2019, approval for "quiet zones" at nine of the line's crossings has been granted, to be in effect on March 1, 2019.[16]
Route
The A Line route follows and remains within a mile of
Leaving
Stations
Fare zone |
Station | Municipality | Opened | Major connections & notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Local | Union Station | Denver | April 22, 2016 | |
38th & Blake | Park and ride: 200 spaces | |||
40th & Colorado | Park and ride: 200 spaces | |||
Central Park | Park and ride: 1,500 spaces | |||
Peoria | Aurora | R Park and ride: 550 spaces | ||
40th Ave & Airport Blvd–Gateway Park | Park and ride: 1,079 spaces | |||
61st & Peña[23][24] | Denver | Parking: 800 (paid) | ||
Airport | Denver Airport | Denver International Airport |
References
- ^ a b "Eagle P3 Commuter Rail Project, Denver, USA". Railway Technology. Archived from the original on September 3, 2011. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
- ^ Aguilar, John (May 2, 2019). "A-Line marks 20 million passengers since train to Denver International Airport opened in 2016". Denver Post. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
- ^ "RTD Monthly Financial Report" (PDF). RTD. December 30, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 25, 2019. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
- ^ "Commuter train testing begins on G Line". RTD FasTracks. Regional Transportation District of Denver. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
- Denver Business Journal. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
- ^ a b "RTD - East Rail Line". Regional Transportation District. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
- ^ "Stories Along the Line: East Rail to roll on historical ground". www.rtd-fastracks.com. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
- ^ "Fastracks - East Corridor". Regional Transportation District. Archived from the original on January 7, 2011. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
- ^ "Electric Multiple Unit" (PDF). East Corridor Environmental Impact Statement. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 20, 2008. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
- ^ "East Corridor Groundbreaking!". Denver Infill Blog. Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
- ^ "Denver's new EMUs take "maiden voyage"". Railway Age. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
- ^ "RTD service from Union Station to DIA scheduled to start April 22". The Denver Channel. Archived from the original on October 24, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
- ^ "Feds give RTD another 90 days fix A-Line crossing problems – The Denver Post". February 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
- ^ "The Eight Inductees into the 2016 Colorado Hall of Shame". December 29, 2016.
- ^ "A-Line's noisy train horns' days are numbered, as RTD plans to pull flaggers back from six crossings starting Friday". The Denver Post. June 19, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
- ^ "RTD and Denver receive approvals to implement quiet zones on sections of the University of Colorado A Line" (PDF). Regional Transportation District. February 8, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
- ^ "New train station part of East Rail". rtd-fastracks.com. Regional Transportation District. Archived from the original on August 22, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
- ^ "RTD - A Line". RTD - A Line. Regional Transportation District. Archived from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
- ^ Hodes, David. "Colorado Experiences Phenomenal Success (with Photo)". Business Xpansion Journal. Retrieved June 15, 2015.
- ^ "Eagle P3 Project update", Fast Tracks Monitor Committee, May 13, 2014
- ^ "Hotel and Transit Center". FlyDenver.com. Archived from the original on July 2, 2015. Retrieved May 31, 2010.
- ^ "Appendix A Preferred Alternate Maps" (PDF). East Corridor Environmental Impact Statement. Retrieved April 29, 2010. [dead link]
- ^ "Peña Station Rail Stop", Flydenver.com, 2015
- ^ "61st & Peña Station Area Plan" Archived June 21, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, City and County of Denver, January 13, 2014