Denver, CO (DEN)

Ticket Revenue

FY 2011

$13,832,957

Station Ridership

FY 2011

115,342

Note: Fiscal year is from
October through September.

Beginning Feb. 4, 2011, Amtrak temporarily relocatef from the historic Denver Union Station to 1800 21st St., at the intersection of 21st St. and Wewatta St., west of Coors Field in Downtown Denver’s Prospect Neighborhood.

The temporary station is completely accessible to passengers with disabilities, offers Quik-Trak® self-serve ticketing kiosks, free WiFi and vending machines with snacks and beverages. Free parking is available at the temporary station for Amtrak passengers with proper validation. Amtrak passengers are encouraged to plan to be picked up and dropped off at the temporary location. Approximately 15 short-term parking spaces are available at the lot on the east side of the station, and 25 long-term parking spots are available on the west side of the station under the 20th Street viaduct. The temporary station is served by a RTD bus stop just steps from the door.

The move is necessary to accommodate construction of the new commuter rail station at Denver Union Station that will serve Amtrak and the East, Gold, North Metro and Northwest Rail commuter rail lines. When improvements are complete, Denver Union Station will be the centerpiece of the Regional Transportation District’s FasTracks transit expansion program and will serve as a multimodal hub for the region. Amtrak will return to Union Station in the spring of 2014.

In addition to the eight-track Amtrak and RTD commuter rail station, the $484 million Denver Union Station redevelopment project includes a 22-bay regional bus facility, new light rail station for current and future light rail lines, extension of the 16th Street Mall Shuttle and several public plazas to integrate transit services with adjacent neighborhoods.

Union Station was built in 1881 at a cost of $525,000 and was destroyed by fire in 1894. It was rebuilt in the Beaux Arts architectural style and in 1914 a larger central waiting room made of Colorado granite was added as rail traffic continued to increase. The plaster arches that line the walls of the room have 2,300 carved Columbine flowers.

In the late 1980s, the Regional Transportation District (RTD) and the Denver Union Terminal Railway Corporation (DUT), the station owners, upgraded the platforms and canopies. The RTD purchased the site in August 2001. Under a public/private agreement, the station and its surrounding 19.5 acres will be the hub of the RTD’s master plan for an intermodal retail, office and residential development.

The redevelopment of Denver Union Station is part of RTD’s voter-approved FasTracks program – a $4.7 billion, 12-year transit expansion program across the RTD service area. Scheduled for completion in 2017, FasTracks will create six new commuter rail and light rail corridors, extend three existing corridors, add 21,000 new parking spaces, and expand bus service.

The Continuum/East West Partners team, now known as the Union Station Neighborhood Co., was selected as the master development team to lead this significant redevelopment and preservation effort. This station will ultimately become the connection point for Amtrak, light and commuter rail, local, regional and intercity buses and other public and private transportation modes.

Denver was established by prospectors on November 22, 1858, after a gold discovery. The founders of the town named it for James W. Denver, Governor of the Kansas Territory, of which Colorado was then a part. The Colorado Territory was established in 1861 and the city was incorporated on November 7, 1861. In 1865, Denver became the capital of the Colorado Territory and in 1881 it permanently became the state capital.

Denver is nicknamed “The Mile-High City” because its official elevation is one mile above sea level. The Denver Center for the Performing Arts is the nation’s largest performing arts center after New York’s Lincoln Center.

Denver has more than 200 parks within the city limits and owns and maintains 40,000 acres of mountain parks including the famous Red Rocks Park. The city also owns the Winter Park Resort ski area.