Balfour Beatty completes work on $429m North Metro Rail Line in Denver
Balfour Beatty, a part of the Regional Rail Partners (RRP) joint venture team, completes the first phase of design, construction and commission of Regional Transportation District’s (RTD) newest commuter rail corridor, the North Metro Rail Line (N Line).
Recently opened on Sept. 21, the $429 million transit project is the first electrified commuter rail line operated by RTD that will significantly improve mobility from the city’s northern suburbs to downtown Denver.
Balfour Beatty served as managing partner of RRP, a joint venture with Graham Contracting, and provided design-build construction services for the N Line. The recently completed 13-mile section of the commuter rail corridor includes six new stations, five public-grade and one private crossing, quiet zones and 2,480 passenger parking spaces.
The N Line also features wireless positive train control (PTC) technology, making RTD the first transit agency in the US to build PTC into a new rail system to reduce the risk of potentially fatal accidents from train collisions and unsafe speeds.
The N Line is a part of RTD’s ambitious FasTracks program, a voter-approved multibillion-dollar transit expansion plan for the metro Denver Region. Balfour Beatty has delivered various components of the expansion program including the recent completion of the E, F and R light rail lines of Southeast Rail Extension, and the A, B and G Lines of the Eagle Commuter Rail Network.
“We’re honoured to work with our partners to deliver another design-build transit project on behalf of RTD’s FasTracks program,” said Roger Wilson, vice president of Balfour Beatty’s US rail operations. “We are excited to open the first phase of the N Line to better meet the transportation needs of the larger Denver community.”
Once complete, the entire 18.5-mile N Line will run from Union Station through Commerce City, Thornton and Northglenn State Highway 7 in North Adams County. The now open 13-mile section extends from Denver Union Station to Eastlake-124th Station in Thornton with trains operating every 30 minutes, seven days a week per RTD’s COVID-19 plan. The remaining 5.5 miles of the N Line will be built as funds become available.
