Print
E-mail
Comment
Let there be light rail ... and commuters saw that it was good
Hang the streamers and lift the cheers in celebration Friday as the Regional Transportation District's southeast corridor light rail line opens.
Courtesy photo / Regional Transportation District
The new 19-mile Southeast Corridor light rail station, located just west of I-25 parallel to the interstate and just north of Lincoln Avenue in Douglas County, opens Friday.
By Tom Munds
Hang the streamers and lift the cheers in celebration Friday as the Regional Transportation District's southeast corridor light rail line opens.
The light rail line opens with celebrations and free rides and marks the completion of the massive T-Rex project that added lanes to Interstate-25 and built the train line from Broadway to Lincoln Avenue near Park Meadows Mall in Douglas County.
Mary Costello said she is eager to see the line open.
"I live near the University of Denver, I work in the Denver Tech Center and I despise the daily drive," she said. "The highways are always jammed with cars and, in bad weather, the drive is a nightmare. With the light rail I can walk to the Louisiana Station and ride the light rail almost right to the door of my office building. This line is a big deal for the metro area and I can't wait to start using it."
The celebration begins at 10 a.m. at the Lincoln Light Rail Station in Douglas County with speeches and a ribbon cutting at 10:30. Festivities include entertainment, refreshment, music and giveaways at the Lincoln station from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The end of the opening ceremonies initiates Friday's free rides. From about 11 a.m. to midnight, passengers ignore the ticket machines and ride the Southeast Corridor free. All four new lines will be running and trains will stop at each station along the corridor. The celebration continues Saturday with free rides on the entire light rail system.
The first light rail line in the metro area opened in 1994 and served just the downtown area. Six years later the Southwest Corridor opened, providing service to Englewood and Littleton. Another addition in 2002 provided light rail service to the west side of the Auraria Campus, entertainment venues like Pepsi Center and Six Flags and to Union Station.
The Southeast Corridor is a 19-mile, 13-stop line that runs parallel to Interstate-25 from Broadway to Lincoln Avenue in Douglas County and a line down the middle of Interstate-225 to the Nine-Mile Park-N-Ride. It provides service to Greenwood Village, the Denver Tech Center and to northern Douglas County. An added attraction is planned next year, when an easy-access system will be built for shoppers wanting to visit the Park Meadows Mall.
RTD also made major bus line changes to provide easy east-west access to the stations along the Southeast Corridor. For information on fares, the routes and the bus connections, visit the RTD Web site at southeastlightrail.com.
Contact Tom Munds at tmunds@ccnewspapers.com.
The light rail line opens with celebrations and free rides and marks the completion of the massive T-Rex project that added lanes to Interstate-25 and built the train line from Broadway to Lincoln Avenue near Park Meadows Mall in Douglas County.
Mary Costello said she is eager to see the line open.
"I live near the University of Denver, I work in the Denver Tech Center and I despise the daily drive," she said. "The highways are always jammed with cars and, in bad weather, the drive is a nightmare. With the light rail I can walk to the Louisiana Station and ride the light rail almost right to the door of my office building. This line is a big deal for the metro area and I can't wait to start using it."
The celebration begins at 10 a.m. at the Lincoln Light Rail Station in Douglas County with speeches and a ribbon cutting at 10:30. Festivities include entertainment, refreshment, music and giveaways at the Lincoln station from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The end of the opening ceremonies initiates Friday's free rides. From about 11 a.m. to midnight, passengers ignore the ticket machines and ride the Southeast Corridor free. All four new lines will be running and trains will stop at each station along the corridor. The celebration continues Saturday with free rides on the entire light rail system.
The first light rail line in the metro area opened in 1994 and served just the downtown area. Six years later the Southwest Corridor opened, providing service to Englewood and Littleton. Another addition in 2002 provided light rail service to the west side of the Auraria Campus, entertainment venues like Pepsi Center and Six Flags and to Union Station.
The Southeast Corridor is a 19-mile, 13-stop line that runs parallel to Interstate-25 from Broadway to Lincoln Avenue in Douglas County and a line down the middle of Interstate-225 to the Nine-Mile Park-N-Ride. It provides service to Greenwood Village, the Denver Tech Center and to northern Douglas County. An added attraction is planned next year, when an easy-access system will be built for shoppers wanting to visit the Park Meadows Mall.
RTD also made major bus line changes to provide easy east-west access to the stations along the Southeast Corridor. For information on fares, the routes and the bus connections, visit the RTD Web site at southeastlightrail.com.
Contact Tom Munds at tmunds@ccnewspapers.com.
Submit a Comment
|
You must be logged in to post a comment.
|
Not yet a registered member?
Click here to become one. |
