GDT > Projects > N Line Extension to North Thornton
Heading to North Thornton / Highway 7…
As part of RTD FasTracks program, there are ‘Phase II’ plans to extend the N Line 5.5 miles further north in to North Thornton / Highway 7. The case to build out the entire line was made in 2001, and so far funding has been identified as the only obstacle to completing Phase II.
Alignment Overview
Eastlake / 124th Station
From the bump stops at Eastlake & 124th Station, the extension continues the N Line along the former Union Pacific Dent Branch, which was acquired by RTD in 2009 for $117M. The overhead catenary system (OCS) was installed in such a way to make extending the line as easy as possible with no poles needing to be relocated.
York / 144th Station
The one intermediate station on the extension is would be located just south of 144th Ave.
North Thornton / Highway 7 Station
After a grade separated crossing of Highway 7 (160th Ave), the line would terminate near the future 162nd Ave. The final station site should be reviewed taking into account of the large-scale the development that has occurred in the area in the past ten years.
Northwest Mobility Study
“However, the corridor should be re-evaluated in the future if population densities or other conditions change.”
Northwest Mobility Study Final Report Final Report, August 2014
The Northwest Area Mobility Study (NAMS) was a 13-month long planning effort led by RTD that developed a prioritized list of transit mobility improvements for the northwest metro region. The study looked at extending the N (North Metro) Line beyond Highway 7 to Longmont as an alternative route to the Northwest Rail corridor and detailed a scheme that would provide a Denver Union Station to Longmont trip time of 59 minutes.
Sadly the study concluded that ridership on such a second extension to Longmont would be lest than 1,000 people per day and that efforts should remain being focused on the Northwest Rail corridor. However it did note that that conditions should be re-evaluated should conditions in the Thornton area change. It can be now be argued that ten years of residential development in North Thornton and along the Highway 7 corridor constitutes grounds for such a re-evaluation.
Finish the N Line Campaign
GDT is running a campaign to get RTD to finish the N Line extension to North Thornton / Highway 7 Station. Click the button below for more details: