Transit planners are recommending that the 18-mile North Metro commuter rail line use self-propelled diesel train cars instead of electric-powered cars, officials announced this morning.
Electric trains are “not affordable within the FasTracks corridor budget,” a comparison analysis said.
The study said an electric train for the line through Denver, Commerce City, Northglenn and Thornton would cost at least $177 million more in capital and financing costs than diesel.
Even with slightly lower annual operating costs, electric trains would not recoup the cost differential in more than three decades of operation, planners said.
The North Metro line is one of six new rail lines that will be built as part of RTD’s FasTracks expansion. The line, which will end at East 162nd Avenue in north Adams County, is due to open in 2015.
Planners recently selected diesel technology for the 41-mile Northwest commuter rail route to Boulder and Longmont, noting that electrifying that line could cost as much as $565 million more than using diesel.
Two other commuter rail lines in FasTracks — the train from Union Station to Denver International Airport and the Gold Line to Arvada/Wheat Ridge — have selected electric rail.
A separate analysis show that savings on operations and maintenance over time will repay the extra cost of electrifying those lines.
Residents in the North Metro corridor have expressed a preference for electric rail by about a five to one margin, mainly due to concerns that diesel rail will add noise and air pollution in the corridor.
Today, planners said both diesel and electric yield a net reduction in air pollutants in the corridor because of the number of cars taken off the road.
They acknowledged diesel trains are noisier than electric counterparts, especially when diesel motors are idling at stations.
RTD will hold public meetings on Wednesday and Thursday nights to present the analysis on diesel vs. electric for North Metro.
Information on the meetings is at www.rtd-fastracks.com and click on North Metro corridor.
Staff writer Jeffrey Leib can be reached at 303-954-1645 or jleib@denverpost.com.
