The W Line, also called the West Rail Line, is a

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

line in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, Lakewood, and Golden,

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The W Line was the first part of

FasTracks FasTracks is a multibillion-dollar public transportation expansion plan under construction in metropolitan Denver, Colorado, United States. Developed by the Regional Transportation District (RTD), the plan consists of new commuter rail, light r ...

to break ground, on May 16, 2007. The line, the only line to traverse the West Corridor, opened for service on Friday, April 26, 2013.

History

The Denver, Lakewood and Golden Railroad started operations in the area in 1893, switching to

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

traction by 1909 as the Denver and Intermountain Railroad. The route ran from the downtown Denver

interurban The interurban (or radial railway in Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...

loop, along Lakewood Gulch and 13th Avenue, continuing out to Golden.

Interurban The interurban (or radial railway in Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...

service continued until 1950, when all Denver area trolley and interurban service ceased. Plans to resurrect a railway line from Denver to Golden were advanced in the mid-1970s and in the 1980s RTD purchased the right-of-way to an unused rail corridor between the two cities. A study conducted in 1997 stated the need for a rapid transit corridor through the region, and settled on 13th Avenue as the locally preferred alternative. An

environmental impact statement An environmental impact statement (EIS), under United States environmental law, is a document required by the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for certain actions "significantly affecting the quality of the human environment". An E ...

was started in 2001 and finished with a record of decision in 2004. A "rail-pulling" ceremony was held on the 13th Avenue corridor on May 16, 2007, and construction started in earnest in early 2008. As project costs climbed above the initial estimates, cuts were made, including reducing the line from a

double track A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track. Overview In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most li ...

to a single-track operation from west of the Federal Center Station to the end of the line at the Jefferson County Government Center. The first full test run of the line happened on January 3, 2013, in anticipation of the official opening, April 26, 2013, eight months ahead of schedule.

Route

The W Line follows the Central Platte Valley Corridor (CPV) from

Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...

, stopping at Ball Arena-Elitch Gardens, Empower Field at Mile High station and a relocated Auraria West Campus station. It then leaves the CPV corridor, traveling under U.S. Route 40/ U.S. Route 287, crosses over the UP/

BNSF BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that provide ...

consolidated mainline on a new bridge, travels under

Interstate 25 Interstate 25 (I-25), also known as the Pan-American Freeway, is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States. It is primarily a north–south highway, serving as the main route through New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. I-25 st ...

, and then over the

South Platte River The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwestern United States, Midwest and the American Sou ...

. The corridor then travels west along the Lakewood Gulch until Lamar station, where it begins to follow 13th Avenue until it reaches the Lakewood Industrial Park at Oak station. From there, the line turns south along the Remington spur to reach the Denver Federal Center. From the Federal Center, the line narrows to a single-track line and travels west along

U.S. Route 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6) or U.S. Highway 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the United States Numbered Highway System. While it ...

to the western terminus at Jefferson County Government Center in Golden. The single-track section limits headways to no better than every 15 minutes over that section of the line. The W Line is the first light rail route in metro Denver to make extensive use of gated

grade crossings Grade most commonly refers to: * Grading in education, a measurement of a student's performance by educational assessment (e.g. A, pass, etc.) * A designation for students, classes and curricula indicating the number of the year a student has reach ...

within its right-of-way (there were only four such grade crossings on the previously existing network). Some of the route goes through residential areas and concerns about noise led to an innovative solution for the warning system at crossing gates. The warning bells will adjust their volume in response to the ambient noise resulting in 50-70 dB during the evening hours compared to the standard volume of 90-100 dB.

Stations

Four stations along the route were in use previously, including the station which was relocated approximately to the north, and eleven new stations were built for the line. Three different fare zones exist along the W Line.

References

External links

RTD W Line Schedule
* {{Colorado public transit 750 V DC railway electrification Railway lines opened in 2013 2013 establishments in Colorado