RTD Will Mute G Line Train Horns In Some Places, Start Honking Them In Others

Nathaniel Minor/CPR News
An RTD G Line train idles at the Olde Town Arvada stop during a test run on February 8, 2019.
Photo: G Line in Olde Town Arvada | Minor
An RTD G Line train idles at the Olde Town Arvada stop during a test run on February 8, 2019.

Coloradans who live around the Regional Transportation District’s G Line in Arvada and Wheat Ridge will get a little more peace and quiet as of Friday. RTD said it will silence train horns as its tests G Line trains.

When the G is finally open — April 26, RTD said — officials expect about 9,000 passenger trips per day on the line.

The long-delayed G Line connects downtown’s Union Station with Wheat Ridge. When the line opens it will be more than two years delayed. The original schedule targeted October 2016, but problems with crossing gates meant delays. Trains on the A Line to Denver International Airport had similar problems, and regulators made G Line testing follow the same crossing safety protocols — including sounding horns.

In March, RTD silenced horns on most of the A Line after regulators gave the go-ahead. The train horns won’t be quiet everywhere, however.

Trains on the G Line will still have to sound their horns at crossings in Adams County for another week, officials said.

Meanwhile, testing has begun on the N Line from Union Station to Thornton. Those trains will blow their horns at intersections every weekday and some Saturdays.

After the A Line’s problems, RTD officials decided to operate the N themselves instead of contracting out the operation of the trains.

The N Line is scheduled to open in 2020.

Map: G Line
RTD's G Line will run from Union Station to Wheat Ridge.