Denver Transit Partners (DTP), the consortium awarded the Eagle commuter rail P3 in Denver in 2010, has filed a lawsuit against Regional Transportation District (RTD) in Denver District Court. RTD is a public transport authority operating in eight counties in Colorado, a state in the western USA, and the contracting authority for the P3.

The P3 entails the design, construction, financing, operation and maintenance of three commuter rail lines in Denver. DTP completed the first - the University of Colorado A Line - in April 2016.  However, due to unresolved problems with the crossing-gate technology, the line has since operated under a waiver from the Federal Railroad Authority (FRA) which stipulates that human flaggers must be stationed at every crossing.

Through this lawsuit, DTP is attempting to force RTD to reimburse them the money they have spent on the flaggers, as it is not to blame for the failure to get the crossings approved. Furthermore, DTP wants RTD to reimburse the US$250,000 deductions from the consortium's monthly service payments between June 2016 through August 2018.

DTP claims that it is following the agreed procedure for dispute resolution in its contract with RTD, which calls for a review and decision by the Court if RTD and DTP are unable to agree on a resolution. Negotiations regarding the ongoing issues with the project and its much-delayed completion have been ongoing for months and were allegedly broken off by DTP earlier this week.