Colorado commission adopts reports on 15 RTD light-rail safety events
The second-quarter reports included two derailments and two collisions requiring medical transport; commissioners also closed six separate corrective-action plans staff said were complete.
The Colorado Public Utilities Commission adopted Regional Transportation District (RTD) investigation reports covering 15 light-rail safety events from the second quarter of 2026 at its Sept. 23 meeting. Staff said no fatalities were associated with the events.
The events, reported for April 1 through June 30, included four unintended train movements at stations; two grade-crossing collisions that required medical transport; two derailments; three other reportable grade-crossing events; and four instances in which passengers self-evacuated onto the trackway while trains were stationary. Staff said the two collisions occurred on the I-225 corridor and in the central downtown corridor. The three other grade-crossing events did not involve substantial property damage, serious injury or a fatality.
Staff described one derailment as involving an RTD ballast regulator navigating a curve in the central corridor. The other occurred in an RTD yard after a vehicle trailed through a misaligned switch.
A separate quarterly report covered 46 items involving RTD light-rail vehicles and transit-controlled property: 37 hazards and nine red-signal violations. Staff said RTD submitted a corrective-action plan for each violation. Staff also said it reviewed the hazard reports and found they had been completed in accordance with state reporting rules. The item was informational and required no commission action.
In a separate update, staff said it verified completion of six existing corrective-action plans through document review and discussions with RTD personnel, and recommended closing them. Commissioners agreed.