R Line (RTD)

The R Line or Aurora Line/I-225 Rail^[2] is a Regional Transportation District (RTD) light rail line that serves stations in Aurora, Denver, Greenwood Village, Centennial and Lone Tree.^[3] Opening on February 24, 2017, the line was designated as the "R" line, reflecting the letter R’s in "Aurora" and "RidgeGate".^[4]

R Line
R Line tracks at the intersection of E Exposition Ave and S Sable Blvd prior to operation
Overview
Owner	Regional Transportation District
Locale	Denver metropolitan area
Termini	Peoria RidgeGate Parkway (suspended) Lincoln
Stations	19
Service
Type	Light rail
System	RTD Rail
Operator(s)	Regional Transportation District
Ridership	1,097,000 (FY2023, annual)[1]
History
Opened	November 17, 2006 (Original G Line)
Closed	May 3, 2009 (Original G Line)
Reopened	February 24, 2017 (R Line)
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	Overhead line, 750 V DC
Route map R Line highlighted in green Show interactive map Legend to Denver Airport Peoria Fitzsimons Colfax I-225 13th Avenue 2nd Avenue & Abilene Aurora Metro Center Florida Iliff I-225 Nine Mile Dayton I-25 Belleview Orchard Arapahoe at Village Center Dry Creek County Line SH 470 / E-470 Lincoln Sky Ridge (suspended) I-25 Lone Tree City Center (suspended) RidgeGate Parkway (suspended) This diagram: view talk edit Show route diagram

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 light rail 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 Aurora and Lone Tree, was named the “G Line” and assigned the color brown.^[5] 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.^[6]

FasTracks relaunch

Main article: FasTracks

I-225 Rail Line

The 2004 voter-approved FasTracks initiative marked the return of the Aurora-Lone Tree Line. The I-225 Corridor is a 10.5-mile (16.9 km) 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. Following an unsolicited proposal from Kiewit Infrastructure Company, funding was secured for the full line, which was expected to open in winter 2016.^[7] The opening date was later pushed back.^[8] On January 30, 2017, RTD announced that the H and R Lines would begin service on February 24, 2017.^[9]

Southeast Corridor Extension

Regional Transportation District sent four teams a Request for Proposal for the Southeast Corridor extension, consisting of 2.3 miles (3.7 km) of new track south of Lincoln station that would serve three new stations: Sky Ridge Medical Center, Lone Tree City Center, and the terminus at RidgeGate Parkway.^[10][11] 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.^[10][12] The extension opened on May 17, 2019.^[13]

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 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

Station	Municipality	Opened	Interchange
Peoria	Aurora	April 22, 2016	Park and ride: 550 spaces
Fitzsimons		February 24, 2017
Colfax			Flatiron Flyer
13th Avenue			Park and ride: 262 spaces
2nd Avenue & Abilene			Park and ride: 242 spaces
Aurora Metro Center			Park and ride: 145 spaces
Florida
Iliff			Park and ride: 600 spaces
Nine Mile		November 17, 2006	Park and ride: 1,225 spaces
Dayton			Park and ride: 250 spaces
Belleview	Denver		Park and ride: 817 spaces
Orchard	Greenwood Village		Park and ride: 48 spaces
Arapahoe at Village Center			Park and ride: 817 spaces
Dry Creek	Centennial		Park and ride: 235 spaces
County Line	Lone Tree		Park and ride: 388 spaces
Lincoln			Park and ride: 1,734 spaces
Sky Ridge		May 17, 2019	R Line service suspended
Lone Tree City Center			R Line service suspended
RidgeGate Parkway			R Line service suspended Park and ride: 1,300 spaces