For immediate release Friday, February 24, 2017

RTD celebrates the new R Line with grand opening festivities

AURORA (Feb. 24, 2017) –The Regional Transportation District (RTD) celebrated the grand opening of the R Line today with great fanfare. People gathered for a ceremony to see officials cut the ribbon to officially open the R Line that runs from Lincoln Station to Peoria Station. The new line also extends the H Line from to Florida Station. The ceremony was immediately followed by free rides on the new line.

The R Line provides accessible and reliable connections to Lone Tree, Greenwood Village, Aurora, the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, the VA Hospital and . The $687 million project was fully funded by local funds and is a part of RTD’s FasTracks program.

Speakers at the event included Mayor Steve Hogan, City of Aurora; Mayor Michael Hancock, City of Denver; Craig Briggs, Kiewit Infrastructure Co. Regional Manager; Skip Noe, Aurora City Manager; RTD Board Chair Larry Hoy; and RTD General Manager and CEO Dave Genova.

Speakers at the ceremony reflected on the significance of the project to the region and how collaborative partnership made it all happen.

“RTD is building new train tracks and stations, connecting communities and providing efficient, safe and reliable transit services that will change the way people live, work and play,” said General Manager and CEO of RTD, Dave Genova. “This is all possible through regional collaboration between Aurora, Denver, Kiewit and the Colorado Department of Transportation. These new mobility options are giving people the ability to connect locally, regionally and internationally, as well. The R Line connects the Northeast part of the Denver Metro area with Aurora and the southeast part of the Denver metro area. It is a new way to reach a variety of areas including connection to the University of Colorado A Line at the Peoria Station.”

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“This is yet another piece of the FasTracks puzzle we’ve filled in to make the Denver metro region more connected and more prosperous,” said RTD Board Chair Larry Hoy.

“Today, Aurora ranks as the 54th most populous city in the United States and has grown to become a progressive, exciting and forward-thinking community. This rail line is more evidence of this. We are already seeing the benefits the R Line has brought to our community, with new development and economic growth,” said Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan. “The newest RTD light rail line brings the promise of greater mobility and connections to the airport, downtown Denver and the Anschutz Medical Campus.”

This is the fourth transit line RTD will open within the last fourteen months.

For route and schedule information, please call RTD’s Telephone Information Center at 303.299.6000 or call 303.299.6089 for the speech and hearing impaired. Visit RTD’s website at www.rtd-denver.com.

Photo (l-r: RTD Director Chuck Sisk; RTD Director Ken Mihalik; Craig Briggs, Kiewit Infrastructure Co.; Mayor Michael Hancock, City of Denver; Skip Noe, Aurora City Manager; Mayor Steve Hogan, City of Aurora; RTD General Manager and CEO Dave Genova; RTD Board Chair Larry Hoy; Council Member Bob LeGare, City of Aurora; Council Member Bob Roth, City of Aurora; Council Member Brad Pierce, City of Aurora)

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