Overview

The East Corridor is a 22.8 mile commuter rail corridor between Denver Union Station (DUS) and Denver International Airport (DIA). It serves as a connection between these two important destinations, and also serves established and emerging residential and commercial areas along the corridor.

In July 2007, the project team presented a Preferred Alternative; however, recent Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) discussions required the project team to refine the Preferred Alternative to accommodate UPRR’s operational requirements. While developing the refinements, several strategies were used to minimize property impacts, including:

• Negotiating individual segments of UPRR land where freight operations could still be maintained if the land transferred from UPRR to RTD.
• Sharing right of way with the City and County of Denver and Aurora for both roadway and rail improvements.
• Constructing a barrier wall between freight and commuter rail tracks when advantageous to minimize the parallel separation between the two types of tracks.
• Minimizing the width of the East Corridor through design modifications.

East Corridor Preferred Alternative

The East Corridor Preferred Alternative alignment is shown in the figure below. The alignment generally follows the UPRR corridor between DUS and Airport Boulevard and then the Peña Transportation Corridor to DIA. Characteristics of the Preferred Alternative include:

• Double-track electric multiple unit (EMU) commuter rail
• 6 new stations
• 7,900 parking spaces (3,529 parking spaces for opening day of 2015)
• 19 grade-separated crossings
• 18 at-grade crossings
• Average weekday ridership of 37,900
• 29-minute travel time from DUS to DIA
• Service between 3:00 a.m. and 1:00 a.m. 365 days a year
• 15-minute frequency (headway) from 4:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
• Capital cost of $1.992 billion (in year of expenditure dollars)
• Annual estimated operating cost of $17.7 million (in 2008 dollars)

In addition to DUS, recommended stations include:

• 38th/Blake (formerly called 40th/40th)
• Colorado
• Central Park
• Peoria
• 40th/Airport
• DIA

  CLICK FOR MORE INFORMATION ON A STATION

Project Map - click for enlargement

(click on the stations on the map)

Potential stations at 64th/Peña and 72nd/Himalaya or Dunkirk within the DIA area of the alignment were identified; however, RTD will not fund these design options. If these design options are funded by others, additional environmental analysis and clearance may be required for these stations and infrastructure.

Technology

Electric Multiple Unit is the preferred technology for the East Corridor.

Other Related Studies

		Studies that are closely related to the East Corridor DEIS include: Commuter Rail Maintenance Facility, Central Corridor Extension, I-225 Corridor, North Metro Corridor, Gold Line Corridor, and Denver Union Station. Click for info and links: LINKS

ARCHIVE: Click to view the Alternatives Archive.

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