The R Line or Aurora Line/I-225 Rail is a

Regional Transportation District The Regional Transportation District, more commonly referred to as RTD, is the regional agency operating public transit services in eight out of the twelve counties in the Denver-Aurora-Boulder Combined Statistical Area in the U.S. state of Col ...

(RTD) light rail line that serves stations in

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Greenwood Village,

Centennial {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at a ...

and Lone Tree. Opening on February 24, 2017, the line was designated as the “R” line, reflecting the letter R’s in “Aurora” and “Ridgegate”. 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 Lincoln station is currently suspended due to reduced service levels on RTD, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

History

G Line service (2006–2009)

November 17, 2006 saw the completion of the

Southeast Corridor The Southeast Corridor (SEC) is a proposed passenger rail transportation project in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States to extend High-speed rail in the United States, high-speed passenger rail services fro ...

light rail project (part of the

Transportation Expansion Project The Transportation Expansion (T-REX) Project was a $1.67 billion project with the goal of transforming the way people in the Denver metro area commute within the areas of Interstate 25 and 225, the country's 14th busiest intersection at the ti ...

). One of the four routes that were part of the RTD’s service plan for the corridor, the route between

and Lone Tree, was named the “G Line” and assigned the color brown. The G Line’s northern terminus was at Nine Mile Station in Aurora on the

I-225 Interstate 225 (I-225) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Colorado. The freeway is a connector spur route of I-25 that acts as an eastern bypass in the Denver metropolitan area and serves Aurora. It also provides dire ...

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 Night service, sometimes also known as owl service, refers to the public transport services operated during the night hours. These services are operated, mainly using buses but in certain cases using trams (or streetcars), not including int ...

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.

FasTracks relaunch

I-225 Rail Line

The 2004 voter-approved

FasTracks FasTracks is a multibillion-dollar public transportation expansion plan under construction in metropolitan Denver, Colorado, United States. Developed by the Regional Transportation District (RTD), the plan consists of new commuter rail, light r ...

initiative marked the return of the Aurora-Lone Tree Line. The I-225 Corridor is a 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 The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT, pronounced See Dot) is the principal department of the Colorado state government that administers state government transportation responsibilities in the state of Colorado. CDOT is responsible f ...

. Following an unsolicited proposal from Kiewit Infrastructure Company, funding was secured for the full line, which was expected to open in winter 2016. The opening date was later pushed back. On January 30, 2017, RTD announced that the H and R Lines would begin service on February 24, 2017.

Southeast Corridor Extension

sent four teams a Request for Proposal for the Southeast Corridor extension, consisting of of new track south of

Lincoln station Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

that would serve three new stations: Sky Ridge Medical Center, , and the terminus at . 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. The extension opened on May 17, 2019.

Route

The R Line travels south from

Peoria Station Peoria station, also known as Peoria/Smith station, is a Regional Transportation District (RTD) station in Aurora, Colorado. The station is served by the A Line, a commuter rail line from Union Station in Downtown Denver to Denver International ...

in northwest Aurora, predominantly following

Interstate 225 Interstate 225 (I-225) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Colorado. The freeway is a connector spur route of I-25 that acts as an eastern bypass in the Denver metropolitan area and serves Aurora. It also provides direct ...

through central Aurora to Belleview Station in southeast Denver. It then follows

Interstate 25 Interstate 25 (I-25) is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States. It is primarily a north–south highway, serving as the main route through New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. I-25 stretches from I-10 at Las Cruces, New Mexic ...

to its terminus at

RidgeGate Parkway station RidgeGate Parkway station is a light rail station in Lone Tree, Colorado, part of the Regional Transportation District (RTD) system in the Denver metropolitan area. It is the terminus of two lines: the E Line to Union Station and the R Line to ...

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

References

External links

RTD R Line Schedule
{{RTD Bus & Light Rail RTD light rail Transportation in Aurora, Colorado Transportation in Arapahoe County, Colorado Transportation in Douglas County, Colorado Railway lines in highway medians Railway lines opened in 2017