The Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD) on July 25, 2016 officially completed and opened the Denver Eagle P3 Commuter Rail Project B Line. The electrified six-mile line links Denver’s Downtown Union Station Transit Center to Westminster Station on the Denver-Boulder corridor.
The B Line’s start-up marks the second major commuter rail line opening on the Eagle P3 (public-private partnership) project this year for the RTD, following the April 2016 opening of the University of Colorado A Line linking downtown Denver with Denver International Airport. At the Union Station Transit Center, riders can connect with RTD’s C, E and W light rail lines, the A Line to Denver International Airport, and local and regional buses.
The B Line operates on 30-minute headways during peak times and hourly during off-peak times. It serves the northwest region of the Denver metropolitan area and marks the first phase of Denver RTD’s plan to eventually build an extension between Westminster and Longmont when funding becomes available. Westminster Station has 350 parking spaces and 20 bike lockers to encourage carpooling and to accommodate alternative modes of transportation.
The Eagle P3 project is an FDBOM (Finance-Design-Build-Operate-Maintain) awarded by the RTD to Denver Transit Partners (DTP), a joint venture comprised of Fluor Corp. (lead); Denver Rail (Eagle) Holdings, Inc., a unit of John Laing plc; and Aberdeen Infrastructure Investments (No. 4) USA LLC, a unit of Aberdeen Global Infrastructure Partners LP. Other DTP members include Balfour Beatty Infrastructure, Inc., Alternative Concepts Inc., Ames Construction, Hyundai Rotem (vehicles) and HDR.
The Eagle P3 project is part of the RTD’s voter-approved FasTracks program to build 122 miles of commuter rail and light rail, 18 miles of bus rapid transit service, add 21,000 new parking spaces, redevelop Denver Union Station and redirect bus service to better connect the eight-county district.
DTp operates and maintains the B Line along with the A Line, G Line and the LEED Gold-certified Commuter Rail Maintenance Facility for the next 28 years under contract to Denver RTD.
“The B Line opening is an outstanding milestone for the Denver metro region as it increases mobility and transit access for commuters linking downtown to the Westminster area,” said Denver Transit Partners Executive Project Director and CEO Aaron Epstein. “The Fluor-led joint venture and our partners worked as one team with RTD to advance this project and use our integrated and innovative solutions approach to deliver the B Line.”