Denver, Colorado, USA

Table of Contents

Overview - Denver

Located on the South Platte River, Denver is the capital of and the largest city by population in Colorado. It has approximately 716,500 inhabitants in the city proper as of 2018. The Denver metropolitan area (Denver-Aurora-Lakewood) comprised 2,932,415 residents as of the 2018 US Census Bureau Estimate.

Denver's rapid transit network consists of six light rail services. It also has an urban mainline rail service, two regional rail services, and a commuter rail service.

RTD Light Rail

Opened 1994, the RTD's Light Rail network consists of six light rail services that serve the city of Denver, Colorado and the southern suburbs. All light rail lines are owned and operated by the RTD, and multiple extensions are under construction.

D Line

The D Line of the RTD Light Rail network is a light rail service on a north-south alignment, running from the downtown loop in the north to Littleton-Mineral in the south and serving 12 stations. The northern portion of the route in the downtown loop is shared with the H and L lines.

The D Line was opened in October 1994 as the first light rail line in Denver and the last extension to the line was in May 2003 when light rail service was extended to Littleton-Mineral. The northern portion of the line was truncated to the loop in January 2018 with the creation of the L Line.

E Line

The E Line of the RTD Light Rail network is a light rail service on a north-south alignment, running from Union Station in the north to RidgeGate Parkway in the south and serving 21 stations. The northern portion of the route on the Central Platte Valley Spur is shared with the W line.

The E Line was opened in November 2006 and the last extension to the line was in May 2019 when light rail service was extended to RidgeGate Parkway.

H Line

The H Line of the RTD Light Rail network is a light rail service on a north-southeast alignment, running from the downtown loop in the north to Florida in the southeast and serving 16 stations. The northern portion of the route in the downtown loop is shared with the D and L lines, while the central portion of the route is shared with the E line and the southeastern portion of the route is shared with the R line.

The H Line was opened in November 2006 and the last extension to the line was to Florida in February 2017 with the opening of the R Line.

L Line

The L Line of the RTD Light Rail network is a light rail service on a south-northeast alignment, running from the downtown loop in the south to 30th and Downing in the northeast and serving 6 stations. The southern portion of the route in the downtown loop is shared with the D and H lines.

The L Line was opened in January 2018 when it was split from the D Line.

R Line

The R Line of the RTD Light Rail network is a light rail service on a north-south alignment, running from Peoria in the north to Lincoln in the south and serving 13 stations. The central portion of the route is shared with the H line, while the southern part of the route is shared with the E line.

The R Line was opened in February 2017, though it replaced an older service that ran a portion of the route from 2006 to 2009. It was cut back to Lincoln as part of COVID service reductions.

W Line

The W Line of the RTD Light Rail network is a light rail service on an east-west alignment, running from Jefferson County Gov't Center in the west to Union Station in the east and serving 15 stations. It runs along the Central Platte Valley Corridor for most of its route. The eastern portion of the route on the Central Platte Valley Spur is shared with the E line.

The W Line was opened in April 2013.

RTD Commuter Rail

Opened 2016, the RTD's Commuter Rail network consists of an urban mainline rail service, two regional rail services, and a commuter rail service that serve the city of Denver, Colorado and the northern suburbs.

A Line

The A Line of the RTD Commuter Rail network is an urban mainline rail service on an east-west alignment, running from Union Station in the west to Denver Airport in the east and serving 8 stations.

The A Line was opened in April 2016. The A Line is owned by the RTD and operated by Denver Transit Partners.

B Line

The B Line of the RTD Commuter Rail network is a commuter rail service on a north-south alignment, running from Union Station in the south to Westminster in the north and serving 4 stations.

The B Line was opened in July 2016.

G Line

The G Line of the RTD Commuter Rail network is a regional rail service on an east-west alignment, running from Union Station in the east to Wheat Ridge-Ward in the west and serving 8 stations.

The G Line was opened in April 2019.

N Line

The N Line of the RTD Commuter Rail network is a regional rail service on a north-south alignment, running from Union Station in the south to Eastlake-124th in the north and serving 7 stations.

The N Line was opened in September 2020.

References & Helpful Links

Denver RTD at Wikipedia

Official Website for Denver RTD Rail: RTD Rail

Maps

Official System Map - RTD Rail [Last Accessed Sept 10, 2023]

Unofficial Map - Metro Denver Rapid Transit by Steve Boland (calurbanist.com)

Other Sources

Denver, USA at Urbanrail.net

Asset Notes

Route colors were taken from the RTD Website's CSS document as of September 21, 2019