Denver RTD, UP reach preliminary agreement

Denver’s Regional Transportation District (RTD) and Union Pacific Railroad (UP) announced that the FasTracks Committee of the RTD Board of Directors has approved a preliminary agreement on a package of property acquisitions and relocations from UP for the FasTracks program totaling approximately $185 million in cash and direct costs to Union Pacific Railroad. Additional civil engineering work to be performed by RTD brings the total value to approximately $210 million.

The preliminary agreement is for the acquisition of property and relocation of certain railroad improvements for several lines and authorizes the General Manager to spend up to $185 million for property, relocation projects and site preparation work over the next several years beginning in 2009. Approximately $25 million will be spent by RTD on civil engineering projects.

The agreement, which is subject to approval by both entities' boards of directors as well as final legal negotiations, follows several years of negotiation and will allow RTD to acquire property from UP subject to RTD performing certain railroad relocation and/or entering into certain shared-use agreements.