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 all or a portion of eight out of the twelve counties in the Denver–Aurora combined statistical area in the U.S. ...

(RTD)

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

line that serves stations in

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Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, Greenwood Village,

Centennial A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century. Notable events Notable centennial events at a national or world-level include: * Centennial Exhibition, 1876, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

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 Florida station was suspended from June 2023 until October 2023 due to maintenance on the Southeast Corridor between I-25 & Broadway station and Lincoln station. This project is temporarily paused until May 2024. The R Line is and will continue running the full route between Peoria and Lincoln; however, it will see limited service in the evenings throughout the rest of the project.

History

G Line service (2006–2009)

November 17, 2006 saw the completion of the Southeast Corridor

project (part of the Transportation Expansion Project). 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 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 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 government of Colorado, Colorado state government that administers state government responsibility for Transportation in Colorado, transport ...

. 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 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 in northwest Aurora, predominantly following Interstate 225 through central Aurora to Belleview Station in southeast Denver. It then follows

Interstate 25 Interstate 25 (I-25), also known as the Pan-American Freeway, 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 st ...

to its terminus at RidgeGate Parkway station 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
{{Colorado public transit 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 2006 establishments in Colorado