Three private consortiums with broad experience in designing and constructing passenger-rail systems have expressed interest in forming a public-private partnership with RTD to build the DIA and Gold Line commuter trains.
The Regional Transportation District is hoping that such a PPP, as it is called, will help bail out the financially strapped FasTracks program by bringing at least $1 billion in private financing.
RTD wants a private partner to construct a commuter-rail maintenance center and operate other rail lines in addition to building and running the Denver International Airport train and the Gold Line train to Arvada/Wheat Ridge.
The transit agency recently raised its estimate of the cost of FasTracks to $7.9 billion from $6.1 billion just a year ago. To make the project feasible, RTD is depending on private companies to finance, design, build, operate and maintain significant portions of FasTracks for as long as 50 years.
One team that has submitted an initial bid on FasTracks is called Mile High Transit, which includes Britain’s John Laing plc, Hochtief PPP Solutions of Germany, rail-car builder Bombardier and Flatiron Construction, a Hochtief subsidiary based in Longmont.
Denver Transit Partners is another team that has submitted a “statement of qualifications.” It includes Fluor Enterprises, Australia’s Macquarie Capital Group, Ames Construction and Balfour Beatty Rail Inc.
The third team, Mountain Air Transit Partners, includes the Australian infrastructure company Babcock & Brown, rail-car maker Siemens, train operator Veolia, contractors Kiewit, Herzog and Stacy & Witbeck, and Citi, the financial-services giant.
Merrill Lynch, the brokerage and investment bank, is listed as part of the Mountain Air team, but the global financial crisis overwhelmed Merrill in recent weeks, forcing its sale to Bank of America.
Ongoing turmoil in world markets makes it nearly impossible to know whether RTD will be able to negotiate a final deal with one of the teams.
RTD’s timetable calls for the agency to select a preferred team for the PPP in early 2010.
Jeffrey Leib: 303-954-1645 or jleib@denverpost.com
Trying to team with RTD
Three teams of private companies have expressed interest in forming a public-private partnership with RTD to build the $1.67 billion East Corridor train to DIA and the $666 million Gold Line train to Arvada/Wheat Ridge. The team names and each group’s companies are:
Mile High Transit: John Laing plc; Hochtief PPP Solutions; Bombardier; Flatiron Construction; Archer-Western; Aldridge Electric; DMJM Harris/AECOM; CH2M Hill
Denver Transit Partners: Fluor Enterprises; Macquarie Capital; Ames Construction; Balfour Beatty Rail; Alternate Concepts; HDR Global Design Consultants; Arup; Gannett Fleming; Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe; Interfleet Technology; Romero & Wilson
Mountain Air Transit Partners: Babcock & Brown; Siemens; Veolia; Kiewit; Herzog; Stacy and Witbeck; HNTB Corp.; Mass. Electric Construction Co.; Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy; Citi; Merrill Lynch
Source: RTD
