AURORA — When light rail is finished in Aurora later this year, those in the east and south metro areas will have a quicker trip to the new airport line and avoid going into downtown Denver.
Starting Friday, those seeking to take the to the airport will have to pick up the commuter rail at Union Station in downtown.
But when the R-Line — light rail in Aurora along the I-225 corridor — is finished by the end of the year, commuters can bypass Denver and pick up the A train at the Peoria station.
That will make for a quicker trip for anyone who lives in south Denver and especially for those in Aurora, who would have to double back south on the southeast rail or H-Line, then head north along Interstate 25 to Union Station then transfer to the A train to the airport.
When the 10½-mile extension is finished, the new R-Line will travel 22 miles between the Peoria station south to the Lincoln station.
Lisa Trujillo, an RTD spokeswoman for the R-Line, said the new route from Aurora to the airport would shave at least 5 minutes off a trip compared to having to catch the airport line at Union Station. It will also eliminate the three-block walk from the light-rail platform along 17th Street to Union Station.
For commuters like Ryan Dunn, the complete line in Aurora will make sense when he travels to the airport.
This week, Dunn, a budtender at The Clinic pot shop near Colorado and I-25 in Denver, was waiting for a ride at the Nine Mile station in Aurora after work. He uses the light rail to commute to work from his home near Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora.
As it is now, Dunn usually takes a shuttle or cab to the airport, a trip that can cost $65, he said. A day pass on the RTD system — whether light rail, commuter rail or bus travel — will costs $9.
“A big drop in price,” Dunn said. “I definitely think it’s a good alternative to cabs. It’s a pretty expensive trip on an express shuttle.”
The fact that the full R-Line is opening this year is unexpected. But a public/private partnership (P3) with Kiewit construction allowed the $350 million extension to come sooner.
There were talks in some circles that the R-Line would not open because of funding until 2045, and even 2026 was an “optimistic” opening date, said RTD board member Tom Tobiassen, who represents Aurora.
But low interest rates and contractors looking for whatever work that was available during the recession, the R-Line was able to get started and will be finished this winter.
“We’re on target to open late in 2016,” Tobiassen said. “When I got on the board in 2008, we were talking about not being able to finish anything soon.”
Recently, the last bit of track was put in place on the extension, which will connect to the Nine Mile station, run north along Interstate 225, veer into the area of the Aurora Municipal Center and the Town Center at Aurora, the former Aurora Mall.
Then it will make stops at the Anschutz Medical Campus and the Fitzsimons Life Sciences District before heading north again and hooking up with the commuter line to the airport at the Peoria station.
There will be 10 street-level crossings alone in a small horseshoe area near the mall and 20 at-grade crossings in all. Crossing gates will be used. Trains are scheduled every 15 minutes in each direction.
James Miles, a student at the University of Colorado Denver, catches the light rail twice a week at Nine Mile to go to school. The cost of a light-rail pass is including in his school fees, Miles said. The criminal justice students lives in Aurora but said the new rail line to the airport will be a big hit with his classmates.
“If I visit back home, we have to pay for parking,” Miles, who is from New York, said of having to drive to DIA. “Now I can take the light rail and, boom, straight to the airport.”
Carlos Illescas: 303-954-1175, cillescas@denverpost.com or @cillescasdp
The “A” train opening
A look at the festivities planned Friday for the opening of the A train between DIA and downtown Denver:
8:10 a.m.: Denver Union Station ribbon cuttings
8:30: Train leaves Union Station
8:50: Train arrives at 40th and Airport station for ribbon cutting
9:25: Train arrives at DIA station
9:30: DIA ribbon cutting
10: Grand opening ceremony
Noon: Train opens to public at DIA and Union Station for free rides
