DART rail
operates light rail and hybrid rail in the Dallas metropolitan area. The agency's rail system consists of four light rail lines and one hybrid rail line, which together span 73 stations across of track.
In, the four light rail lines had a ridership of, or about per weekday as of. DART's light rail lines have the 7th highest ridership of light rail systems in the United States. However, the system was also one of the country's worst financial performers.
History
Planning
In the 1970's, public officials in Dallas became concerned about traffic and air pollution in the area. They proposed light rail as a possible solution to these problems. DART's initial plans called for of commuter rail. The election plan was pared down to when Duncanville, Grand Prairie and Mesquite, which would have had rail lines, opted out of joining the agency. DART chose light rail transit as its primary mode of rail transportation. The plan was pared down again to after a bond vote. After that vote, the agency again pared down the regional rail system to.Starter system
After years of scandals involving finances, delays in construction of the rail system, a failed bond election, and nine pull-out votes, October 1990 was a turning point for the agency, when DART first broke ground on its light rail system. The first sections of track were laid in July 1993. In June 1996, the light rail system began service on time and on budget inaugurating the first light rail system in Texas. Commuter rail service to Irving began in December, after some delays.To the surprise of critics, the new light rail system was embraced by Dallasites, with ridership exceeding expectations. The suburbs' confidence in DART was also expressed at the ballot box: four cities held highly publicized pullout elections in 1996, but all four voted to remain in DART.
The starter system opened on June 14, 1996, comprising the from the Westmoreland Road in West Oak Cliff through downtown Dallas to Pearl Street, and the from Pearl Street to Morrell Station and Illinois Avenue.
The next stage of the starter line opened on January 10, 1997 when the was extended from Pearl Station to Park Lane Station. It includes the tunnel from Pearl Street to Mockingbird Lane, the latter being the site of Dallas's first modern transit village. The northern terminus of the remained Pearl Station at that time.
The starter line was completed when the was extended from Illinois Station to Ledbetter Drive. This came on May 31, 1997, nearly one year after the first part of the starter system opened.
The final change to the starter system came on December 18, 2000, when DART opened Cityplace station, the system's first subway station, in the tunnel between Pearl and Mockingbird Lane under the Tower at Cityplace skyscraper, providing access to the Tower as well as Cityplace West. It was the system's first in-fill stop.
Commuter rail on the old Rock Island right-of-way began during the series of openings of the light rail starter system. On December 30, 1996, the opened the first segment as the South Irving Transit Center was connected to Union Station in downtown Dallas with a stop in the middle at Medical/Market Center Station. The agency had to lease rail cars due to a delay in the current stock until that March.
Suburban expansion
After the success of the light rail starter system, voters approved DART's request to use long-term bonds to expedite the construction of the regional light rail system. While DART had originally planned single-track extensions of the Blue Line to Garland and the Red Line to Richardson and Plano, the starter system was so popular that the agency made plans to double-track the entire route.Work began on the extensions of both the and the on January 15, 1999. Later that same year, on September 27, the Blue Line designation was extended to Mockingbird Lane, for its eventual expansion to Garland. The first station since 1997 to open came on September 24, 2001, when the was extended from Mockingbird station to White Rock station. Later, the Blue Line was further extended east outside the LBJ Loop when LBJ/Skillman station opened on May 6, 2002.
The first extension of the Red Line opened on July 1, 2002, when the line was extended 7 stations north from a newly rebuilt Park Lane station to Galatyn Park station. Richardson became the first Dallas suburb to be served by light rail.
The Blue Line was completed to Garland on November 18, 2002, making it the second suburb to get light rail service. Two stations at Forest/Jupiter and Downtown Garland were opened to the public.
The final stage of north-central and northeast "suburban" light rail expansion opened six months ahead of schedule when the Red Line extension to Downtown Plano and Parker Road stations opened on December 9, 2002, providing light rail service to Plano for the first time, and completing the current configuration of the Red Line.
2030 Plan
In October 2006, the DART Board of Directors unanimously approved a long-term "2030 Plan", which included the following proposals for its next round of rail expansion:- A light rail extension of the to Bonnie View Road and Interstate 20 to a new SouthPort intermodal port in southeast Dallas.
- A light rail extension of the south to Red Bird Lane.
- A light rail extension of the along Scyene Road to approximately Masters Drive. The line would branch off the Green Line east of Lawnview Avenue.
- A light rail line in West Dallas along Fort Worth Avenue or Singleton to Loop 12/Jefferson Boulevard. No color designation was given for this planned line.
- A station for the Lake Highlands neighborhood of northeast Dallas on the, between White Rock Station and LBJ/Skillman Station. This area previously opposed rail service, so the tracks were built through the area without a station. Lake Highlands opened on December 6, 2010, becoming the first component of the 2030 plan to be completed and the first infill station in DART's system. This is a key component of the new Lake Highlands Town Center TOD development.
- A nearly Silver Line commuter service in the east-west Cotton Belt corridor from the Red Line in Plano to DFW International Airport. This line would provide rail service to the bus transfer station in Addison and would intersect the at Downtown Carrollton Station.
The Cotton Belt corridor plans continued to generate controversy right up to the day of the vote on the 2030 plan. DART leaned toward diesel powered commuter rail for the Cotton Belt corridor, similar to the. However, the line would pass through affluent Far North Dallas neighborhoods, which formed the Cotton Belt Concerned Coalition to fight the line in 1990. The group lobbied for electric light rail vehicles on the line to avoid perceived air and noise pollution associated with diesel rail, and also proposed that the line be placed in a below-ground trench. These proposals were accepted by the City of Dallas in June 2006 in a unanimous resolution. DART, however, balked at the cost of trenching the line, which they estimated at $250 million. This set up a confrontation between DART and the city of Dallas, which appoints eight of the board's 15 members. The final plan compromised by promising $50 million "to help address neighborhood concerns".
The current Cotton Belt freight corridor runs just south of the Downtown Plano station on the, but DART maps of the 2030 plan indicated that the commuter rail line would run to the nearby Bush Turnpike station, the nearest station to the south of downtown Plano. The Cotton Belt line would run through former DART member city Coppell between Carrollton and DFW Airport; although no station locations are included in the plan, the promise of a future station could entice Coppell, which withdrew from DART in 1989, into rejoining the agency.
In 2010, citing deficits and drops in revenue, DART scrapped much of their 2030 plan.
Green and Orange Line expansion
On July 3, 2006, the Federal Transit Administration approved a US$700 million Full Funding Grant Agreement — the largest grant ever awarded to DART — to kick-start a US$2.5 billion expansion of the light rail system. This phase included two new light rail lines that doubled DART's light rail mileage. Construction began in September 2006. Upon completion of the project in 2013, the size of DART's light rail system doubled to.In maps before 2006, DART labeled the Pleasant Grove to Carrollton route the "Orange Line", and the Irving route was the "Purple Line". Green was generally used on DART maps to denote the route of the. By the time construction started, DART was using the new Green Line designation as part of its marketing efforts, saying "Like the color green, this line is a symbol of our city on the move."
The began operation on September 14, 2009, with a route from downtown Dallas southeast to Fair Park; this short route was scheduled to open in time to service the 2009 State Fair of Texas. On December 6, 2010, the line extended further at both ends – to Pleasant Grove, as well as continuing northwest from Victory Station to Farmers Branch and Carrollton; both extensions, completing the Green Line.
The Green Line's northern end connects with the A-train line run by the Denton County Transportation Authority. This line connects Denton to Carrollton, with stops in Lewisville and Highland Village. The commuter train may stop in other Denton County cities, should they choose to join the DCTA.
The second line, the originates at LBJ/Central on the Red Line and runs concurrently with the Red Line to downtown, then with the Green Line to northwest of Love Field Airport at Bachman Lake, where it branches off toward Irving, then continuing to DFW International Airport. DART is cooperating with Love Field to link that airport to the Orange Line, but service is currently connected by a bus shuttle. The line runs through Las Colinas and connects to the Las Colinas APT System. DART had preliminary plans for the to run concurrently with the from downtown Dallas to LBJ/Central Station. The line ends at LBJ/Central Station with rush hour service to Parker Road Station. The first Orange Line stations opened on July 30, 2012, while service to Belt Line Station in Irving began on December 3, 2012. An extension of the Orange Line from Belt Line Station to DFW Airport Station opened on August 18, 2014.