Railroad Forums 

  • DART - Dallas Area Rapid Transit

  • General discussion of passenger rail systems not otherwise covered in the specific forums in this category, including high speed rail.
General discussion of passenger rail systems not otherwise covered in the specific forums in this category, including high speed rail.

Moderators: mtuandrew, gprimr1

 #1322958  by dowlingm
 
Do Brookville have any previous experience with streetcars/LRVs? I was surprised when I saw an article yesterday naming them as the supplier here.

Edit: never mind, found this
http://www.brookvillecorp.com/streetcar-division.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.brookvillecorp.com/streetcar-modern.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 #1392031  by SemperFidelis
 
To all users of DART over the next few months (I get that this is off topic but it is relevent):

CNN is reporting that 5 Dallas Police Officers, including at least 1 DART officer were murdered last night by protestors. Thus far 11, yes eleven officers, have been shot.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/08/us/philan ... index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Anyone planning on using the system should expect tempers to be on edge, emotions to be worn upon the sleeves of officers, and probably more than a few itchy trigger fingers. Even the most professional amongst law enforcers are still just human beings and will, undoubtedly, feel the strain of this loss and it will show in thier work.

What I am trying to say is that for the next few months, it might not be in anyone's interest to get too upset over any enforcement of supposed "photo bans" or "loitering laws" that sometimes get in the way of our hobby.

I'm sure we are all praying for these officers and thier families...and I am sure we all hope the cowards who took these shots are brought to justice in a swift manner.
 #1393936  by electricron
 
Recent DART ridership data.
FY 2015 30.1 million
FY 2014 29.88 million (Orange Line extended to DFW airport, 90 miles and 62 stations)
FY 2013 29.5 million
FY 2012 27.7 million (Blue Line extended to Rowlette, Orange Line opens to Beltline,
FY 2011 22.3 million (Green Line is completed, extending DART Rail to 72 miles, 55 stations)
FY 2010 17.8 million
FY 2009 19.0 million (first four stations of the Green Line open, DART Rail at 48 miles)
FY 2008 19.4 million
FY 2007 17.9 million
FY 2006 18.58 million
FY 2005 17.48 million (Victory Station opens, DART Rail at 45 miles)
FY 2004 16.49 million
FY 2003 16.97 million (Northeast extension (LBJ/Skillman to Downtown Garland) and North Central extension (Galaytn Park to Parker Road) open growing the system to 44 miles)
FY 2002 13.73 million (Northeast extensions (Mockingbird to LBJ/Skillman) and North Central extensions (new Park Lane to Galatyn Park) opened)
FY 2001 11.51 million
FY 2000 11.43 million
FY 1999 11.34 million
FY 1998 10.94 million
FY 1997 7.97 million (6 mile North Central extension (Pearl to Park Lrane) and South Oak Cliff extension (Illinois to Ledbetter) opened completing the 20 mile Light Rail Starter System)
FY 1996 1.4 million
1996 1.4 million (11 miles opened June 14, 1996)

I see constant and steady growth with the light rail ridership except for a 6 year period between 2004 and 2010, where DART light rail was limited to two lines in operation while planning and building the next two lines.

Most naysayers posting editorials frequently limit their data to these six years, and overlook the data from the other 14 years DART light rail has been in service.
 #1405564  by lpetrich
 
DART.org - Dallas Streetcar

Streetcar will link downtown to Bishop Arts District starting Monday | Transportation | Dallas News (Aug 27) It extends southward from near Union Station to Colorado and Beckley, and its recently-opened extension goes further southward to the Bishop Arts District.

DART.org - Blue Line South Oak Cliff Corridor Extension -- it will open on October 24, going southward from the currently southernmost station, Ledbetter Station, to UNT Dallas Station (University of North Texas).

In planning:

DART.org - Cotton Belt Regional Rail Corridor Information -- it's a planned line between Plano and DFW airport, using an existing railroad line.

DART.org - Downtown Dallas Transit Study: "D2: Dallas Central Business District (CBD) Second Light Rail Alignment"

Currently, all four lines use the same right-of-way in downtown Dallas, a segment between West End and Pearl / Arts District. The D2 project is for building a second CBD line, to get some of the pressure off of the existing line.

The current Locally Preferred Alternative starts at the Green Line between Deep Ellum and Baylor and then runs south, crossing US-356 / I-45. It then heads west into Jackson St., Wood St. and/or Young St., going into a tunnel at Field St. It then goes northward, going underneath the existing West End station, and emerging at SR-366. It then goes northwest and ends at the northwestward Orange/Green Line.

Judging from the alignment, D2 will permit the Orange and/or Green Lines to be diverted into it.
 #1405570  by lpetrich
 
Further along than the Cotton Belt and D2 lines is TEX Rail | Commuter Rail Project > Home between downtown Fort Worth and DFW.

From the existing downtown Texas & Pacific TRE station, the line will go north, then east-northeast to DART's planned Cotton Belt Line, then south to DFW. The line will be 27 miles long.

TEXRail Breaks Ground - Three Times in One Day Service should get started in late 2018, and it will be with diesel multiple unit (DMU) railcars. Yet another North American rail-transit line using DMU's.
 #1405676  by deathtopumpkins
 
lpetrich wrote:Streetcar will link downtown to Bishop Arts District starting Monday | Transportation | Dallas News (Aug 27) It extends southward from near Union Station to Colorado and Beckley, and its recently-opened extension goes further southward to the Bishop Arts District.
The free streetcars will run every 20 minutes from 9:30 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week between Bishop Arts and downtown's Union Station.
Why on earth would they not start service until 9:30 am? Does no one live in Bishop Arts? Do they deliberately NOT want commuters using the streetcar? I'm confused here.
 #1405952  by electricron
 
While DART may run this streetcar, it's the City of Dallas that funds its operations.
Therefore, it is safe to assume the City has provided DART more funding for this streetcar to run longer each day. ;)
 #1444536  by electricron
 
With the design reaching 5%,DART has commenced another round of community presentations.
Potential track layouts and station designs presented along with the other EIS staple of information.
I wish I knew how to link directly to the various slides of a presentation, but lacking that ability here’s a link to one of them...
https://www.dart.org/ShareRoot/about/ex ... 1sep17.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Some information gathered from the presentation.
EIS will clear a full double track corridor, but they will be building mostly a single track line initially.
Station platforms will be 350 feet in length, compared to TexRail’s 300 feet platforms.
That extra 50 feet will allow a Stadler Flirt 5 car DMU vs TexRail’s 4 cat DMU.
The station drawings show both a 4 car and 5 car Flirt at them. Not sure which they will buy initially.
DART refers to the Stadler Flirt DMU as a Regional Rail Vehicle. It will be the preferred train.
Price tag for all the construction at this point in the design is around $1 Billion.
They have heard the complaints about there being too many stations in North Dallas, but the EIS will study and clear all of them. The decisions on which to eventually build will be determined later in the process.
10% design should be completed by end of spring next year, at which point further design work will be included in a design build RFP, assuming money to build the line becomes available.

If you have more questions, read the pdf because that’s the latest news available...