The 1989 master plan for Denver International Airport included provisions for a future transit connection,[5] and the main Jeppesen Terminal was designed to accommodate it. The Regional Transportation District (RTD) first studied a rail link in 1997, but funding became available only after voters approved the FasTracks expansion package in November 2004.[6] The 23.5-mile (37.8km) line was built and is operated through the Eagle P3, a public-private partnership.[7] The station opened along with the rest of the A Line on April 22, 2016.[8]
The two tracks and island platform at Denver Airport station are offset within the right-of-way to allow for future expansion.[9]
The station was designed by architecture firm Gensler, which also designed the 519-room Westin hotel built above and straddling the tracks. The hotel opened on November 25, 2015,[10] several months before the station, and the project also included an 82,000 square feet (7,600m2) open-air plaza. The complex achieved a LEED Platinum rating.[5]
Station layout
The station has a two-track island platform for A Line trains and several bus gates. The bus gates are used by RTD's SkyRide airport express buses, including route AB1 between Boulder and the airport and route AT connecting the airport with Arapahoe at Village Center station and Nine Mile station. Additional RTD service at the station includes route 104L, a limited-stop bus with hourly service to Thornton and two commuter routes with just a few runs per day: RTD route 145X to Brighton and 169L to Aurora.[11] The station is also served by Bustang's Sterling–Denver route.
Reflecting the airport location, the station has several specialized amenities.[11] To assist passengers arriving in Denver, who may not be acquainted with the RTD transit system, the station has an RTD Customer Care service desk where agents can answer questions. There are also ticket-vending machines to allow passengers to purchase a pass before boarding the A Line or RTD buses. To assist passengers departing Denver, the station includes flight information screens, airport check-in kiosks, and a baggage service desk where passengers may deposit their checked baggage before entering the airport.
The station is connected to the south end of the airport's Jeppesen Terminal by a five-story escalator, the tallest in Colorado.[9]
Public art
The station includes several public art installations:[9]
Shadow Array, by Denver artist Patrick Marold, is an outdoor sculpture composed of 236 beetle-killed spruce logs arranged to create shifting shadows and patterns in natural and artificial light.
L’eau dans tous ses états (lit.'Water in all of its states'), by Paris-based light artist Yann Kersalé, is a slow-moving video projection above the escalator connecting the station to the terminal.
An informal landscaping feature east of the platform incorporates dozens of surplus concrete railroad ties from construction, arranged decoratively in an area reserved for future expansion.
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