Nostalgia & History > Denver's Air Train

Union Pacific arranged for Denver City officials, Denver RTD managers and invited guest to tour the proposed "Air Train" route to new (under construction in 1992) Denver Int'l Airport (DIA). Denver's Stapleton International Airport was still operating as United jets can be seen on runways and by the terminal. UP Centennial 6936 handled the passenger special seen on track that once led into Rocky Mountain Arsenal (nowadays a National Wildlife Refuge). December 11, 1992.

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A 1993 study of the Air Train put the costs at $140 million for a 23-mile line from downtown Denver, CO, to the new Denver International Airport (DIA). It would parallel the Union Pacific's Limon Sub line out of Denver for several miles.

Denver East Corridor Rail Group LLC was selected in 2001 to plan a 23-mile route from Denver to DIA. They did a feasibility study. The proposal recommended using diesel locomotives hauling commuter trains operating up to 80 mph.

Former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb advocated that Air Train route be built. He wanted it built with private funding, but those plans failed to develop.

2004 found FasTracs including the line on its ambitious light rail and bus route expansion tax increase. It will be built by the Regional Transportation District and open in 2015.

Appropriations Committe chairman Rep. Frank Wolf, (R-Virginia) inserted language into the transportation bill in 1997 that stopped the Air Train project. He acted at the behest of the Air Transport Association, the airline lobbying group. Airlines opposed airport funding of the air train because they must pay all airport bills.

The insereted paragraph was in a section describing congressional intent on future funding of projects, and it specifically refered to the Regional Transportation District's southwest light-rail line and DIA's proposed right-of-way purchase from Union Pacific.

It said the transportation appropriations subcommittee will "consider any action to divert revenue illegally from airports in all its decisions regarding funding for transportation projects within its jurisdiction."

It was a clear threat to go after RTD funding next year (1998)if DIA pursued the air train.

Subject to the results of the Environmental Impact Statement in progress, the East Corridor is a 23.6-mile commuter rail transit project that extends from Denver Union Station in Downtown Denver to Denver International Airport (DIA). The alignment generally follows the existing railroad tracks to Chambers Road and then turns north on the east side of Pena Boulevard and terminates at the south end of the DIA terminal. Estimated cost $702.1 million. Construction expected to start in 2011.

The East Corridor connects Downtown Denver and DIA directly, providing a convenient and easy connection for visitors and residents. The East Corridor also provides a linkage to northeast Denver and the old Stapleton Airport, the largest urban infill development project in the United States. (Denver RTD site on FasTracks)

FasTracks calls for $4.7-billion in transit improvements over 12 years in the Denver Metro Area.