The Regional Transportation District celebrated the 10th anniversary of its popular A Line commuter rail this week, even as directors confronted recommendations for deep service reductions across the system to solve a $200 million budget deficit.

The agency held a media event April 22 at Denver Union Station to mark a decade of the Train to the Plane service between Union Station and Denver International Airport. The 23-mile line has carried more than 59.4 million passengers since launching on April 22, 2016, and led all RTD rail lines in ridership last year.

Yet the milestone came one day after a special board meeting at which staff proposed $62 million in bus and rail service cuts — a 20% reduction — as part of a broader reorganization plan that also includes layoffs, contract changes and other non-service savings. Without an anticipated $40 million state Clean Transit Enterprise grant that RTD must compete for and is not guaranteed, the total cuts could reach 36%.

“I can’t tell you how much I would rather not be talking about cuts across the board and talking about the A Line,” Patrick O’Keefe, RTD board chair, told The Denver Gazette’s news partner 9NEWS in an interview after the 10-year celebration at Union Station.

RTD General Manager and CEO Debra A. Johnson, whose contract expires in May 2027, told the board the proposals were not final and sought guidance from directors. Staff has identified about $84 million in non-service savings through the reorganization, contract changes, realignments (aka layoffs) and vacancies.

Finance and Planning Committee Chair Karen Benker said she could not support a 20% service cut and offered alternatives such as higher fares, passes and parking fees, manager furloughs, reduced overtime and special-event rider charges.

“One-third of our budget goes to overhead and two-thirds goes to services,” O’Keefe said.

Several board members, including Matt Larsen, JoyAnn Ruscha and Michael Guzman, called for pursuing a ballot measure this year for new revenue, possibly through higher sales or property taxes. Benker cautioned that starting such an effort now would be too late for 2026.

RTD also holds roughly $800 million in reserves. O’Keefe said the funds are not readily available cash, describing the reserve as a budget planning tool rather than a liquid account.

The A Line, the first FasTracks commuter rail line completed under a public-private partnership, operates every 15 minutes during peak hours at speeds up to 79 mph for a 37-minute trip to the airport. It has maintained strong on-time performance near 90% and led the nation in commuter rail utilization during the pandemic.

The board is expected to make final decisions on cuts next month for the 2027 budget.

The Denver Gazette’s new partners 9NEWS contributed to this report.