Eagle P3 Project

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RTD Breaks Ground on Third Eagle Project Rail Line

RTD held a groundbreaking ceremony in Westminster on June 28, 2012, the celebrate the signing of an intergovernmental agreement with the City of Westminster. This paved the way for work to start on the full 6-mile first segment of the Northwest Rail Line to the future Westminster Station. See photos from the event here.

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Watch the Full Funding Grant Agreement signing and Gold Line Groundbreaking

RTD received a $1.03 billion Full Funding Grant Agreement from the Federal Transit Administration on Aug. 31, 2011. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff attended the ceremony in Olde Town Arvada.

Denver Transit Partners, RTD's 34-year concessionaire on the Eagle Project, produced this brief video capturing the event.



Map of the Rail Lines being built as part of the Eagle Project

How to Do Business With the Eagle P3 Project

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Background on the Eagle P3 Project

The Eagle P3 Project is being delivered and operated under a concession agreement that RTD has entered into with a "Concessionaire" that has been selected through a competitive proposal process. The selected Concessionaire is known as Denver Transit Partners (DTP), a special purpose company owned by Fluor Enterprises, Uberior Investments and Laing Investments.  Other leading firms involved in the team include Ames Construction, Balfour Beatty Rail, Hyundai-Rotem USA, Alternative Concepts Inc., Fluor/HDR Global Design Consultants, PBS&J, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Interfleet Technology, Systra, Wabtec and others.

The Eagle P3 Project concession agreement requires DTP to design-build-finance-operate-maintain (DBFOM) the East Rail Line, Gold Line, Northwest Electrified Segment (NWES) (segment 1 of the Northwest Rail Line) and Commuter Rail Maintenance Facility project under a single contract.  RTD will retain all assets while shifting much of the risk of designing and building the project to DTP.  The Concessionaire has also arranged around $450 million of private financing for the project.  This allows RTD to spread out large upfront costs over approximately 30 years, making it more affordable, much like a 30-year mortgage versus a 15-year mortgage. In return, RTD will make service payments to DTP based on their performance of the operation and maintenance of the project. 

The Concessionaire will provide and maintain the rail vehicles for the three commuter rail corridors.  The proposed rail vehicles are similar to vehicles being supplied to the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) in Philadelphia.

The Concessionaire will also operate and maintain everything it designs and builds, assuring safe and reliable commuter rail service for almost 30 years.  For more detail about the constituent projects please click on the appropriate items: East Rail Line; Gold Line; CRMF.

Procurement Process

RTD issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) in August 2008.  Three teams responded to the RFQ and were evaluated by RTD.  All three teams were found to be qualified to participate in the procurement.  As RTD developed the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Eagle P3 Project, stakeholders were asked to participate in an online survey designed to seek input into the RFP.  Staff evaluated the input and determined what is appropriate to incorporate into the RFP.  Click here for a summary of the P3 RFP Input Survey. 

When RTD had completed a draft of the RFP this was issued to the prequalified teams for their review and comment.  This approach has become standard practice for projects of this nature to assure that the latest thoughts and innovations that the industry has developed are allowed for in the project.  RTD also reviewed key elements of the RFP with affected stakeholders as well as the federal agencies that will provide funding and oversight. 

The RFP was issued to the prequalified teams on September 30, 2009.  On April 14, 2010, two technical proposals were received followed by two final proposals, including financial proposals, on May 14, 2010.  RTD and a group of stakeholders performed a detailed evaluation of the proposals.  On June 15, 2010, RTD staff recommended to the RTD Board selection of Denver Transit Partners to be the Concessionaire.  The RTD Board unanimously accepted the recommendation and awarded the contract to DTP.  The contract was executed on schedule on July 9, 2010, followed by financial close ahead of schedule on August 12, 2010.  Simultaneously with the achievement of financial close, RTD issued a Notice to Proceed (NTP) for Phase 1 of the work, allowing DTP to proceed with final design of the project, construction of the East Rail Line, the maintenance facility and the tracks from Denver Union Station (DUS) to the maintenance facility and the provision of all of the rolling stock required for the project.

For a summary of the Eagle P3 Project RFP, click here.

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