Denver Airport (DEN) to Union Station
The A Line takes exactly 37 minutes to Union Station, four times an hour, from 04:12 in the morning to 01:57 at night. The standard fare is a $10 Airport Day Pass, but every discounted fare covers the airport for nothing extra.
- 37 minutes to Union Station, on every single scheduled trip, four trains an hour in each direction.
- First train out of the airport 04:12, last 01:57. That is a genuinely long service day by American standards.
- The standard fare is the $10 Airport Day Pass, which is good all day across the whole network, not just for the one ride.
- The ordinary $2.75 3-Hour Pass does not cover the airport. Denver treats the airport as a separate fare zone.
- Every discount fare includes the airport at no extra charge: $1.35 for three hours, $2.70 for a day, $27 a month, for seniors 65 and over, people with disabilities, Medicare holders and LiVE enrollees.
- Youth 19 and under ride free, on everything, airport included, as do active-duty US military.
- Tap a contactless card or phone on the validator with Tap-n-Ride, or use the MyRide app or card.
- Fare capping works in your favour. Three-hour passes roll up into day and then monthly passes automatically, so you cannot overpay by buying the wrong thing.
The train
- The A Line runs from Denver Airport Station to Union Station in 37 minutes. Not "about" 37: RTD's own timetable data schedules every trip at exactly that, because it is a dedicated line with a fixed stopping pattern.
- Four trains an hour each way through the day.
- First departure from the airport is 04:12 and the last is 01:57, so an evening arrival that would strand you in most American cities is fine here.
- Union Station is a proper terminus, in the middle of LoDo, with onward light rail and buses under the same roof.
The fare, which is the interesting part
- Denver has two fare zones, Local and Airport. A standard 3-Hour Pass is $2.75 and a Day Pass $5.50, and neither of them is valid to or from the airport.
- What a full-fare adult buys instead is the Airport Day Pass at $10. In exchange it is valid all service day across the entire system, so the return leg and any local travel that day are included.
- Discount fares do not pay the airport premium at all. RTD states that all Discount fares and Monthly Passes include travel to and from the airport, which puts a senior or a LiVE cardholder on the same train for $2.70 a day.
- Youth 19 and under ride free on all RTD services. A 19-year-old and their parent travel on the same train, one paying $10 and the other nothing.
- Proof of eligibility is required for discount fares, youth and military, so carry the card that proves it.
Paying
- Tap-n-Ride takes a contactless credit or debit card or a phone wallet directly on the validator.
- The MyRide app or card does the same and is what fare capping is built around: three-hour passes convert automatically into day passes and then monthly passes, so repeated short trips never cost more than the pass would have.
- Fare capping counts each token separately. A MyRide card and a barcode on the same account accumulate their trips apart, so use one method consistently.
- Machines and shops. Tickets are also sold at transit facilities and at more than 150 King Soopers and Safeway stores.
Getting to the platform
- The station is at the south end of the Jeppesen Terminal, under the Westin hotel, so it is a walk through the terminal rather than a shuttle ride.
- The airport is a long way out. Denver sits about 25 miles from downtown, which is why the road alternatives are expensive and the train is the sensible default.
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