[as of June-2005]

Denver, Colorado has a 15.8-mile-long light rail system with two lines currently in operation, both of which are run by the Regional Transportation District (RTD). In addition, as part of the FasTracks plan approved by voters in November 2004, more light rail lines, as well as the introduction of three commuter rail or DMU lines and enhancements to existing light rail lines, will be built.

CURRENT ROUTES

Central Corridor

The Central Corridor, a 5.3 mile (8.5 km) light rail line, opened on October 7, 1994. It was built along Welton Street, through the Five Points district along the curb of Stout Street and California Street, and following a segregated right-of-way built via the corridor of the Southern Pacific Railroad from Colfax Avenue down to the intersection of I-25 and Broadway. Both northbound and southbound tracks of the downtown loop have been laid on one-way Stout St and California St the 'wrong way', thus making cars meet trams head-on. This is considered a safer traffic engineering approach, as drivers face trams, which makes them more alert and aware of tram's presence. Such approach is used by many newly built North-American light rail systems. Part of the line to Five Points, above 24th St, is a single track, literally on the eastern sidewalk of Welton St within brave proximity of surrounding buildings. This line was successfully built without the aid of tax increases or federal funds. The line was a major success that paved the way for future expansions.

Southwest Corridor

After the success of the Central Corridor, the Southwest Corridor light rail route opened on July 17, 2000. An 8.7 mile (13.9 km) light rail line runs from the terminus of the Central Corridor at I-25 & Broadway to Mineral Avenue in Littleton with 5 existing stations. The line has become very successful, with ridership doubling projections and Park-n-Ride lots at stations experiencing parking shortages. The initially ordered 11 additional cars for this line were not enough, thus new cars had to be ordered on emergency basis.

Central Platte Valley

In April 5, 2002, the Central Platte Valley, or CPV, spur opened. It is a 1.8 mile (2.9 km) spur with four stations that provides light rail access to numerous venues like the Auraria Campus, Invesco Field at Mile High, the Pepsi Center, and Union Station. At the Union Station Terminal it meets with the hybrid electric / CNG bus of the Free Mall Ride line. Unless some public event is taking place at one of the venues mentioned above, the ridership along this line is negligible. The line is built 100% on the reservation. It goes through mixed urban terrain and partially developed lands at the southwestern outskirts of downtown.

SERVICE

Among current routes, the D Line (green) runs between the 30th & Downing Station or the 18th Street Station in Downtown and the Littleton/Mineral Station; and the C Line (orange) runs between the Union Station/LoDo/Coors Field Station and the Littleton/Mineral Station. Letters are used since April 5, 2002. The Green Line via the Central Corridor is identified as the D line probably as it is a 'Downtown' route. The Orange Line via the Central Platte Valley extension is identified as the C Line, the letter probably derives from the full name of the line.

Each 2nd northbound / downtown-bound trip on the D line short turns via the downtown loop, without going to the northernmost terminal of 30th Ave. The use of 2-car vs. 3-car trains on the Central Corridor D line is completely arbitrary, as both arrangements were noted on runs destined to 18th St and 30th Ave alike. Timetable does not distinguish between longer and shorter trains, as a standard headway is used for all runs. Yet, the majority of trains on the D line during rush hour run in 3-car consists. Line C trains always consist of 2 cars.

FARE COLLECTION

Tickets must to be acquired from a vending machine and kept through the ride for possible inspection (often cited as 'proof of payment' technique), which seldom happens. If machine malfunctions, the ride is free and passenger's word attesting to the machine's breakdown seems to be satisfactory. Regular fare as of 06.2005 is $1.25. Passengers crossing Hampden Ave on the Southwest Corridor line pay a higher fare of $2.75, which also happens to be the fare on express buses and thus, to add to confusion, it is called 'express' fare, rather than 'zone X' fare. 10-ride ticket books are available at a small discount. Monthly passes are also available, but no day tickets are issued.

CARS

17 Siemens-Duewag SD100 high-floor articulated cars (1994-1995)
14 Siemens-Duewag SD100 high-floor articulated cars (1998-1999)
11 Siemens-Duewag SD100 high-floor articulated cars (2000?)
At least 7 Siemens-Duewag SD100 high-floor articulated cars (2001?)
34 Siemens-Duewag SD100 high-floor articulated cars, the 200 series (2005+)

Cars of the 200 series are practically identical to cars of the 100 series, the only novelty being sliding plug bi-doors as opposed to double-folding doors.

All cars are equipped with stop-request / door-open buttons that are never used.

The folding wheelchair access ramp makes front doors of all trams permanently unusable for regular customers.

STATIONS

All stations are at ground level, equipped with the high wheelchair access ramp.

Some stations have signs 'DOOR' to identify where a specific door would be when the train stops.

The Five Points line is mostly single track, but there are 2 stations in each direction on each side of the track. This means there are also 2 wheelchair access ramps, one on each side.

Stations along the Littleton alignment have curious platform arrangement: as the freight railroad runs on the western side of the light rail line, all station exits face east through the inbound platform on the eastern side, while the outbound platform is sandwiched between the tracks. This means that inbound trains have platforms on both sides. To avoid confusion among passengers, all inbound trains open doors on both sides.

DEPOT

There are two facilities along the Littleton Line.

THE FREE MALL RIDE LINE

16th Street in downtown Denver is converted into a pedestrian mall with low emission hybrid electric / CNG buses running along the mall between Union Station and Civic Center. The line is officially known as the Free Mall Ride. The overall travel time via the one and quarter mi. mall is claimed to be 11 minutes, which never happens during the busiest hours. 36 buses used are 100% low-floor with 4 wide doors. During the rush hour buses run as often as one and quarter minutes apart, thus there is a continuous flow of buses along the mall, with the next bus always in-sight. Buses stop on every city block, which is probably too often. It is hard to say whether such feature adds convenience due to accessibility, or inconvenience due to longer running times. Excessive overcrowding could be observed during rush hours and especially on Friday and Saturday evenings, as the Mall seems to be the only spot in downtown Denver that stays alive after the sun goes down. All of the above are clear indicators that this rubber-tired guideless semi-electric semi-low-emission monstrosity is asking to evolve into a tram / streetcar.

FUTURE LINES

Seven new rail lines in the Denver area will be built due to the successful passing of two rail-related referendums in 1999 and 2004, the latter of which will involve a sales tax hike, and is one of the United States's most ambitious mass transportation projects in its history.

Southeast Corridor

In November 1999, Denver area voters approved a project, known as the Transportation Expansion (T-REX) Project, which involves the reconstruction of I-25 between Broadway and Lincoln Avenue in Lone Tree, and I-225 between I-25 and Parker Road in Aurora, with widening of the road and light rail being built. Expected to be open in December 2006, the Southeast Corridor route is under construction by the RTD and the Colorado Department of Transportation, and as of 2005, construction continues to be done on budget and on time. The line in its whole will be 19.1 miles, or 30.6 km, when open. There will be two branches. Thirteen new stations will open on the line.

West Corridor

This will be a new light rail line between Union Station in Denver and Golden, going through Lakewood and Golden, via Lakewood. The line will be 12.1 miles, or 19.4 km, long, and will follow a former Associated Railroad right-of-way. It has been studied for over 25 years. The RTD began a major investment study in 1995 to evaluate alternatives for the corridor, and its board of directors recommended a light rail route for the corridor in 1997. The project is already in the Final Environmental Impact Statement. Eleven stations will be located on the line. It will open in 2013, as the first rail line to be built under the FasTracks plan.

I-225 Corridor

Facilitating a suburb-to-suburb link between the Southeast Corridor and the East Corridor is the I-225 Corridor, a new 10.5 mile (16.8 km) light rail line through Aurora, which will include seven new light rail stations. The route would primarily run in the median of a rebuilt I-225 between Parker Road and Aurora City Center, go through the City Center, return to the median of I-225 up to Colfax Avenue to serve the Fitzsimons redevelopment area, and follow Peoria Street to the East Corridor at Smith Road. This line will open in 2015.

Gold Line

The Gold Line is a 11.2 mile (17.9 km) light rail line between Denver and Arvada, which would have seven stations, and also provide access to Wheat Ridge. The line primarily parallels I-70 and partially uses a railroad right-of-way. It is expected to be the last new line in the FasTracks plan to be built, which is planned to open in 2015.

US 36 Corridor/Longmont Extension (commuter rail/DMU)

The US 36 Corridor will be a commuter rail project between Denver, Boulder, and Longmont. The line will be 38.1 miles (61 km) and would entirely follow existing railroad right-of-way, with 7 stations on the route. The route will be double-tracked as far north as Boulder and single-tracked north of Boulder. It will also provide access to Broomfield, Westminster, Louisville, and the University of Colorado. It expected to be open in 2014.

East Corridor (commuter rail/DMU)

Another commuter rail line that is expected to open in 2014 is the East Corridor, a 23.6 mile (37.8 km) line between Denver, the eastern communities, and the Denver International Airport. The line will be single-tracked and will follow an existing railroad right-of-way, as well as Pena Boulevard, to the airport. Five new stations, including one that will act as a transfer with the I-225 Corridor light rail line, will open. It will also provide a link to the Stapleton redevelopment project on the site of the old Stapleton International Airport.

North Metro Corridor (commuter rail/DMU)

The area along the I-25 North corridor is growing heavily, and is expected to continue to grow. A commuter rail line along an existing railroad right-of-way from Denver to 160th Avenue in Thornton, which will be 18 miles (28.8 km) long, with eight new stations, will open in 2015. Also included as part of this project will be contribution towards right-of-way preservation for transit service to Brighton.

Other future improvements

To support the expected ridership for buildout of the overall rapid transit system in the Denver area, existing lines, as well as the Southeast Corridor, will also be modified as part of the FasTracks plan. All existing light rail stations in the Central Corridor, CPV spur, and Southwest Corridor, as well as all the Southeast Corridor stations that will be open in 2006, will be modified to hold four-car trains. On the Southwest Corridor, a new infill Bates Station will open between Evans Station and Englewood Station. The Central Corridor will be extended north from 30th & Downing Station by two stations to a new 40th & 40th station in 2015, the Southwest Corridor will be extended by 2.5 miles (4 km) and one station south from Littleton/Mineral Station to C-470/Lucent Blvd. Station in Highlands Ranch in 2016, and the Southeast Corridor will be extended by three stations and 2.3 miles (3.8 km) south from Lincoln Station to RidgeGate Parkway in Lone Tree, with stops in between named Sky Ridge and Lone Tree Town Center, opening in 2016.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Photography is welcomed by RTD's staff.