RTD plans to start hauling passengers on the southeast light-rail line next November, about a month earlier than originally scheduled.
Trains will operate free for several days at first, said Regional Transportation District General Manager Cal Marsella.
The train line, expected to open Nov. 17, is being built as part of the $1.67 billion Transportation Expansion Project, known as T-REX, in southeast metro Denver.
It includes 19 miles of light rail along Interstate 25 and Interstate 225 and 17 miles of highway expansion in the same corridors.
All the construction should be finished by Sept. 1. RTD then plans to spend about 2 1/2 months testing the new rail line and training operators of light-rail cars before its launch.
Marsella said the line is expected to handle at least 35,000 riders a day.
T-REX project director Larry Warner said it is tough enough to finish a transportation “megaproject” on time and on budget, so “to complete and open (the new line) ahead of schedule is fantastic. I’m jazzed.”
RTD plans to launch a zoned light-rail fare structure July 1, well before the new line opens.
When southeast service starts, a trip from the Lincoln and County Line stations to downtown Denver will cover four zones and cost the regional cash fare of $3.75 each way.
Train riders using stations north of County Line and south of Yale would pay the express fare of $2.75 to travel downtown, while riders from Yale north would pay the local fare of $1.50.
Marsella said RTD does not plan to start its pay-for-parking program at key light-rail and bus park-n-Rides in time for the opening of the new train line.
If RTD’s board of directors approves the parking-fee program, it probably would go into effect several months later, he added.
Marsella also said Tuesday that RTD has agreed with Park Meadows mall to give rail riders direct access to the shopping center from the County Line station.
The station is on the west side of I-25, very close to the Park Meadows parking lot, yet there is no direct pedestrian access from the platform to the lot or the mall.
RTD expects to spend between $3 million and $4 million building a pedestrian bridge and elevator tower to get train riders to and from the Park Meadows lot, and the mall will build a walkway to the stores, said T-REX deputy director Rick Clarke.
The improvements will be completed in 2007.
Staff writer Jeffrey Leib can be reached at 303-820-1645 or jleib@denverpost.com.
