News & Reviews News Wire Closed portion of Denver-area light rail line to reopen week of Nov. 28

Closed portion of Denver-area light rail line to reopen week of Nov. 28

By Trains Staff | November 21, 2022

| Last updated on February 11, 2024

Segment of R Line in Aurora, Colo., has been shut down since Sept. 21 derailment

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Damaged light-rail train in roadway
Light rail service through the site of this September derailment in Aurora, Colo., should be restored the week of Nov. 28, the Regional Transportation District has announced. Aurora Police, via Twitter

AURORA, Colo. — A 4-mile section of the Regional Transportation District’s light rail R Line, shut down since a Sept. 21 derailment, should reopen the week of Nov. 28, the RTD has announced.

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission has approved an RTD plan to address issues at the intersection of Sable Boulevard and Exposition Avenue, where the September derailment occurred, as well as a prior accident in January 2019 that led to a woman’s leg being severed.

The RTD began repair work at the intersection earlier this month, and had previously estimated R Line service would be restored sometime in December [see “Repairs begin at site …,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 8, 2022]. Citing low ridership and a driver shortage, the agency ended a bus bridge around the closed portion of the route on Oct. 30, severing through service between southern and eastern Denver-area communities.

To ensure trains pass through the intersection’s 90-degree curve at a safe speed, the RTD said in a statement that trains will stop prior to proceeding through the intersection, and that track speed approaching the curve will be reduced from 35 mph to 25 mph. The CPUC will also gather further information on RTD proposals to provide additional signage to warn of the approaching curve and relocate a radar sign to provide more advance warning.

The agency has also conducted additional training for light rail operators regarding adhering to speed limits, and will conduct training relating to the changes at the Sable-Exposition intersection.

Colorado Public Radio reports that the RTD investigation into the Sept. 21 derailment remains confidential, as is the agency’s “corrective action plan.”

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