DART light rail starting Dallas/FortWorth airport service

[beautifulplanet]

If there is already a thread about this topic, please move or delete.

Many might be thrilled that starting this morning, DART light rail offers direct service to and from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). As a result of the decades of hard work and rail advocacy, now the Orange Line offers a one-seat ride from the airport to downtown Dallas, f.e. to the West End station within 50 minutes. For most of the day, trains run every 20 minutes, even increasing to every 15 minutes during peak hours. Previously, there was a public transportation connection to Dallas f.e. taking one bus from the terminals to the rental car center south of the airport, then another bus to the Centreport station, then taking TRE commuter rail to downtown Dallas - to many it might seem like the new one-seat ride connection is much more convenient.

There is an informative article including interactive graphics about travel time and how to reach every terminal either with or without checked luggage:

It’s official: DART trains are now rolling into Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport

August 18, 2014

by Brandon Formby

http://transportationblog.dallasnews.com/2014/08/trains-are-rolling-into-dfw-airport.html/

 

[Bob Dylan]

Great news!☺The DFW Metroplex is doing an excellent job of expanding their Mass Transportation Systems! Austin needs to hire some of their Execs and Operations people to get the eternally Clusterflubbed Capitol Metro on track!

When you say that the Orange Line runs from DFW to the Downtown West End Station do you mean the DART Station by American Airlines Arena or Union Station which serves DART, TRE and Amtrak??

 

[MattW]

Are there any plans to run it down and connect to TRE at Centreport station? Admittedly with the one-seat ride to Dallas, and the Tarrant Express line for a one-seat ride from Ft. Worth, I'm not sure how much value there would be, but it seems like it would make sense to connect as many lines as possible.

 

[Shawn Ryu]

Isnt Dallas Love Field already connected to DART? Or does it need a bus ride?

I forget.

 

[Eric S]

Isnt Dallas Love Field already connected to DART? Or does it need a bus ride?

I forget.

Looks like it requires a bus connection between the Inwood/Love Field station and the airport. Route 524 according to the DART website.

 

[beautifulplanet]

Thank you for your reply.

Great news!☺The DFW Metroplex is doing an excellent job of expanding their Mass Transportation Systems!

Yes, many might think so. The example of the Dallas-FortWorth metro area might be encouraging for some, to see that it is possible to meaningfully expand public transportation even in areas that like Dallas that 30 years ago had no rail public transportation at all. And f.e. with the DFW airport connection, it might seem to some that lots of residents, workers and travelers stand to benefit from it.

When you say that the Orange Line runs from DFW to the Downtown West End Station do you mean the DART Station by American Airlines Arena or Union Station which serves DART, TRE and Amtrak??

The Orange Line does not serve the Union Station DART stop, which is served by the Red Line and Blue Line. One could transfer at the West End station to ride for one more stop to the Union Station stop.

The DART station close to the American Airlines Center is called Victory. The travel time from DFW airport to that stop is 46 minutes. The Orange Line does not end at the West End Station in downtown though, it continues via Mockingbird to LBJ/Central, and weekdays during peak hours even to downtown Plano and Parker Road.

The official system map can be found here on DART's website:

https://www.dart.org/maps/printrailmap.asp

 

[cirdan]

Are there any plans to run it down and connect to TRE at Centreport station? Admittedly with the one-seat ride to Dallas, and the Tarrant Express line for a one-seat ride from Ft. Worth, I'm not sure how much value there would be, but it seems like it would make sense to connect as many lines as possible.

In the longer term there are plans for a commuter rail line called Cotton Belt from Fort Worth that will have a station alongside the DFW airport DART stop. It will then continue north east from there going I think to Richardson or Plano using freight tracks.

The advantages of extending the Orange Line to CenterPoint for the sake of making one additional connection would be relatively small. I don't think many people will continue to travel that way once the DART service establishes itself. The money would be better spent on build DART to one of the many places that presently has no rail at all.

 

[Tracktwentynine]

Great news!☺The DFW Metroplex is doing an excellent job of expanding their Mass Transportation Systems! Austin needs to hire some of their Execs and Operations people to get the eternally Clusterflubbed Capitol Metro on track!

When you say that the Orange Line runs from DFW to the Downtown West End Station do you mean the DART Station by American Airlines Arena or Union Station which serves DART, TRE and Amtrak??

Jim, to Clarify, the Orange Line from DFW runs through Victory (American Airlines Arena) station and then turns onto the transit mall, where West End is the first station in Downtown Dallas. But the line continues beyond that, and out toward LBJ/Central.

Union Station is on the Red and Blue lines only. West End (and the transit mall) is served by the Red, Blue, Green, and Orange lines.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Thanks for the info! Kuddos to the DFW Area Leaders!☺

 

[FriskyFL]

Great news, should have happened years sooner.