Doc Savage

I'm flying in on May 4 and might take the light rail from the airport to Littleton Downtown. I'm having a hard time figuring out what the fare will be for the whole thing. Is it $9 or $9 + the cost of the ride from Union Station to Littleton? Does the "day pass" cover the whole thing? Sorry, the RTD website is entirely unclear on this.

HawaiiTrvlr

The price is $9. You can use the ticket from the airport and ride the buses/light rail in the system for that day. At least that is what was explained to me.

Doc Savage

Thanks! That certainly makes it more attractive at that price.

RoyalFlush

Yes $9 all-day, system wide includes Airport Train, local transit, light rail and Flatiron Flyer (commuter bus). It excludes Bustang (intrastate Highway coach).

nineworldseries

Flew into DEN on Saturday for a weekend sampling local delicacies and riding the new A-line to/from the airport. Arrived 30 minutes early on WN (standard) and emerged into the new "Transit Center." Massive crowds there - RTD had a long, zig-zagging, Disney-style line set up:



You can see the weird "wind farm" art installations here that move with the breeze. I just about bailed when I saw these lines, but I learned that they were letting through 250 passengers at once every 15 minutes, so although the wait was long, it wasn't too bad.



Made it onto a train after about 40 minutes of waiting. We were funneled down the main escalator into the station. It reminded me of one of the very long escalators on the DC Metro. You can see the mountain/glacier motif of the station:



This was basically just organized chaos as everyone loaded onto the one train at the bottom of the station. OK, so only about an hour of my day lost, and hopefully we'd be in Denver soon!



Uh, no. Took forever (probably 10-15 minutes) to get one train loaded and to lurch out of Airport station. Then, in between the airport and 61st and Pena, stopping, starting, over and over again. One time the train sat for about 20 minutes. I got to examine every blade of grass along Pena Blvd. pretty closely.

Took almost 2 hours from the time I walked out into the transit center at the aiport to get to Gateway Park station, 2 stops away. Why did I not Uber to downtown?

Got off at 38th and Blake to a huge "station party" about 2 hours 15 minutes after walking off the airplane. The first Saturday of transit, with free admission, took forever, and was a logistical mess.

The next day, Sunday, was quite a different story - walked on the A-line at Union Station and arrived at DEN 38 minutes later, as planned. I was truly grateful to be forced to pay the $9 and ride the A-line in some semblance of normalcy.

HawaiiTrvlr

I experienced similar waits on Saturday. The local news said there was "a signal glitch" along the line. The train stopped going to/from DIA and in/out of Union Station.

Today, with the first day of workday commuting the local news started reporting on homeowners complaining about all the train horns. They have been testing the trains for the last 6 months (train horns and all). There is hope on the horizon when the federal govt approves the paperwork so the train horns can be silenced when going through corssings.

Pegasus23

Denver-southern suburb, 9am April 22, I parked at a new breakfast restaurant, "Three Griddles", right off Dry Creek, E side, & I-25. Breakfast is very good and inexpensive...Onward, boarding the light rail-- "E" train to Union station. [As a senior, over 65 my fare was $1.30 one way.] The seats are hard. Cars clean. The conductor helps wheel chair riders on and off the train. Nice touch. I arrived at the Union station stop around 11am. The light rail stop is about 300 yards from Union station & the "A" train to the airport, walking outside crossing a street; a deal breaker in the snow with wind & one bag- two bags in summer challenging.

The waiting line for the first train at 12noon was forming... I managed to ride the third train. For seniors $4.50 each way, including light rail, bus. Today the RTD "A" train was free.

The seats are good. Nice leg room, clean, friendly security guards on each train. I felt safe. Smile, you are being watched on all trains and platforms. If you see something you want to report, go on your smart phone on the RTD site and text. Info is then relayed to security guard on your train. You, over there, with that elec cig. may be... a "Person of Interest".

The train seems noisy, but it is the A/C. When the A/C cycles off, the train is quiet and very smooth.

37min to the AP. Lovely. The return was fast and smooth too.

For me, The "A" train is a blessing for those going from the airport to downtown & vice versa. Hopefully, on the rare occasions when DIA is closed, The "A" train will offer many new hotel choices downtown. Enjoyed the ride. It was fun!

pseudoswede

You can take the escalators immediately in front of you to the (covered) underground walkway where all of the regional buses are.

Pegasus23

Great to know. Thanks.

cblaisd

If I were dreaming and money no object, I still think a stop on Tower which then connected to a very light rail that runs up and down Tower stopping at hotels could have been a very nice thing.

Will be interesting to see if the Tower Road hotel shuttles start making stops/pickups at the 61st/Pena station.

RoyalFlush

Holiday Inn Denver Stapleton East at 3333 Quebec is doing a shuttle for Central Park Station. They'll still do a DIA shuttle along with Jewish National and an area shuttle.

The Quebec DoubleTrees, the Ren and Courtyard have area shuttles. I'll be at the 3203 Tree later this week.

HawaiiTrvlr

Uh oh....apparently a "communication error" was experienced today causing delays.

http://www.9news.com/traffic/service...lane/154633585

maskedmesothorium

I don't expect I'll use this much since the AB bus from Boulder exists. But it does provide a later option for Saturday and Sunday arrivals into DEN. The 11:20pm last bus is tough on the weekend. Just a couple days ago I arrived 3.5 hours late into DEN and had to wait 2 more for AB service to restart the next morning. Miserable.

Now, the last possible train+bus to Boulder is 1:26am on Saturday and 11:56pm on Sunday ^

HawaiiTrvlr

I am looking forward to using the train on Tuesday. I recently got my badge so I can start working at the airport. I did find out that my $9 fare is good for the entire day on the system. So I can go to/from the airport for the same $9. That will make it easier to afford when I go once a week. Though I still have an employee parking pass, it might be worth the price of a train ticket once in a while.

pseudoswede

Per the Denver Post, ridership on the A line is lower than expected--10-40% lower.