On Saturday the Regional Transportation District (RTD) celebrated both the 30-year anniversary of the light rail and the completion of the first phase of the Downtown Rail Reconstruction Project.

The celebration included speeches from RTD officials, games and activities and food trucks from local restaurants at 1514 California St.

The light rail system officially opened with the Central Corridor Line on Oct. 7, 1994, and operated between Interstate 25 and Broadway to 30th Avenue and Downing Street along a rail alignment that is now served by the D, E, H and L lines, according to a press release from RTD. More than 200,000 customers rode the new line consisting during its opening weekend.

Along with the celebration of the transportation lines, which now cover all of Denver, the public agency also celebrated the completion of the first phase of the construction project that was completed on Aug. 29.

The project saw the reconstruction of the light rail track and infrastructure at five downtown intersections, with the second phase coming in the summer of 2025.

“It’s hard to believe 30 years have passed since RTD’s D Line opened for service,” RTD General Manager and CEO Debra Johnson said. “We take for granted the trains that move through downtown … Since the first horse-drawn rail cars rolled along Larimer Street in 1872 along untreated wood ties laid in dirt ballast, this region has always had a desire to move people efficiently.”