N Line (RTD)

N Line
RTD Silverliner V commuter rail cars at Union Station.
Overview
Type	Commuter Rail
System	Regional Transportation District
Status	Under Construction
Locale	Denver Metropolitan Area
Termini	Union Station/LoDo/Coors Field Eastlake/124th
Stations	9 (proposed)
Website	Official website
Operation
Opening	2018
Owner	Regional Transportation District
Operator(s)	Regional Transportation District
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	Overhead lines
Route diagram Legend North Thornton / Hwy 7 (2042) York / 144th (2042) Eastlake / 124th (2018) Northglenn / 112th (2018) Thornton Crossroads / 104th (2018) Original Thornton / 88th (2018) South Platte River SH 224 (74th Avenue) I‑76 Commerce City / 72nd (2018) I‑270 48th & Brighton National Western Center (2018) I‑70 South Platte River  A  Line (2016)  B  &  G  Lines (2016) Amtrak California Zephyr Union Station ( A ,  B  &  G  2016) ▼  C ,  E , &  W  Lines

The N Line, also known as the North Metro Rail Line, is a commuter rail line which is part of the commuter and light rail system operated by the Regional Transportation District in the Denver Metropolitan Area in Colorado. The first 13 miles (21 km) from downtown Denver to 124th Avenue in Thornton in under construction as part of the FasTracks project. When fully built out the line will be 18.5 miles (29.8 km) long and pass through Denver, Commerce City, Northglenn, and Thornton.^[1]

Stations

The N Line's southern terminus is at Union Station in Denver. It runs on a railroad right-of-way north to its terminus at Eastlake / 124th Station.^[2][3]

Name	Opening Year	Interchange	Municipality	park-n-Ride?	Status
N Line (Union Station - Thornton)
Union Station/ Lower Downtown (LoDo)/ Coors Field/16th Street Mall	2014	A ,  B , &  G  Lines  C ,  E , &  W  Lines Amtrak FREE MallRide (16th St)	Denver	No	Open
48th & Brighton / National Western Center	2018	None	Denver	Yes	Under Construction
Commerce City / 72nd	2018	None	Commerce City	Yes	Under Construction
Original Thornton / 88th	2018	None	Thornton	Yes	Under Construction
Thornton Crossroads / 104th	2018	None	Thornton	Yes	Under Construction
Northglenn / 112th	2018	None	Northglenn	Yes	Under Construction
Eastlake / 124th	2018	None	Thornton	Yes	Under Construction
York / 144th	2042	None	Thornton	Yes	Proposed
North Thornton / Hwy 7	2042	None	Thornton	Yes	Proposed

FasTracks

In 2004 Colorado voters approved FasTracks, a multi-billion dollar public transportation expansion plan. In 2009 RTD paid $117 million to purchase the right-of-way from Union Pacific in preparation for the build out of the North Metro rail line. However with the global recession of 2009, the North Metro Corridor became a victim of financial setbacks and it was feared that the line would not be built until 2044. RTD was able to avoid further delaying the construction of the line when it accepted an unsolicited offer in 2013 to build out the full line in two stages. The first stage will build the line to the 124th Avenue Station with an opening in 2018, while the second stage to North Thornton / Hwy 7 Station will commence when projected ridership makes economic sense.^[4]

References