Denver airport to get commuter-rail stop in April 2016

The Regional Transportation District of Denver (RTD) will provide commuter-rail service from Denver Union Station to Denver International Airport starting April 22, 2016, the transit agency announced yesterday.

The agency made the announcement after receiving an official notice from Denver Transit Partners, the concessionaire in the public-private partnership that's building what will be called the University of Colorado A Line, according to an RTD press release.

The line is 23 miles of new electric commuter-rail service, which is part of the Eagle P3 project, the nation’s first public-private partnership for transit. The $2.2 billion project is being funded with local RTD taxes, a $1.03 billion federal grant and $450 million from Denver Transit Partners.

"The opening of the University of Colorado A Line is a historic milestone towards the completion of RTD's FasTracks program and continues our success rate of opening major infrastructure projects,” said Dave Genova, RTD's interim general manager and chief executive officer. "We continue to transform the region and the University of Colorado A Line will connect the Denver metro area to the world."

The University of Colorado A Line got its name as a result of the first sponsorship through RTD's naming rights program.

Trains on the new commuter-rail line will travel at a top speed of 79 mph, RTD officials said. The line will serve eight stations, including Denver Union Station and the airport stop, which will be located at the south terminal.