DART Silver Line

https://www.dart.org/about/plans-projec ... ne-project

Silver Line Project

Future service running on the Cotton Belt Regional Rail Corridor will be known as the Silver Line

Opening Doors And Broadening Transit Accessibility - DART Silver Line Connects Plano to Fort Worth.
The DART 2030 Transit System Plan (TSP), approved in October 2006, identified the Cotton Belt Corridor (now referred to as the Silver Line Regional Rail Project) as a priority project. In 2016, DART advanced implementation of the project to the year 2022 in its FY2017 Twenty-Year Financial Plan.

The 26-mile Silver Line extends between DFW Airport and Shiloh Road in Plano (see map below). The alignment traverses seven cities: Grapevine, Coppell, Dallas, Carrollton, Addison, Richardson and Plano. The Silver Line Project's primary purpose is to provide passenger rail connections and service that will improve mobility, accessibility and system linkages to major employment, population and activity centers in the northern part of the DART Service Area.

The Silver Line Project would interface with three DART LRT lines: The Red/Orange Lines in Richardson/Plano, the Green Line in Carrollton and the Orange Line at DFW Airport. In addition, at DFW Airport, the project would connect to the Fort Worth Transportation Authority TEXRail Regional Rail Line to Fort Worth and provide access to the DFW Airport Skylink People Mover.

On August 28, 2018, the DART Board approved a Service Plan Amendment which defined the Project alignment, grade separations, and station locations. Also on August 28, 2018, the DART Board also approved an residential betterments program along the Corridor.

On June 18, 2019, the DART Board approved a resolution to name future service as the Silver Line. Customers will see the Silver Line in operation after completion with 30-minute peak and 60-minute off-peak service.



Key Facts

Service anticipated: Late 2025 to mid-2026
Length: 26 miles
Cities served: Plano, Richardson, Dallas, Addison, Carrollton, Coppell and Grapevine
Counties served: Collin, Dallas and Tarrant counties
Key connections: DART's Orange Line, Green Line and Red Line; Trinity Metro's TEXRail; and airlines at DFW Airport
Capacity: 230 seated passengers
Emissions: Meets the EPA's strictest regulations

Silver Line Vehicle Key Features
The DART Silver Line vehicles are nearing completion in Salt Lake City, Utah. Starting in July 2023, these state-of-the-art vehicles will make their way home to North Texas. People across the DART service area need and deserve dependable, reliable transportation. When the DART Silver Line Regional Rail opens, it will take them to the places they want to be. Commuters will take the rail to work at the 210,000 jobs within a ½ mile of the corridor, families will go on adventures to more activities, festivals, concerts, fairs, and sporting events, and students to schools known for academic rigor, career focus, and social opportunities. It's more than a ride, the Silver Line Regional Rail will transform lives and help the people in our community reach their full potential.

The DART Silver Line will feature a fleet of state-of-the-art vehicles manufactured by Stadler Inc. The vehicles are compliant with FRA requirements since the passenger rail will share much of the corridor with freight operations (no freight will ever traverse the North Dallas section of the corridor). Unlike DART’s light rail vehicles, overhead catenary cannot be used as it is incompatible with freight clearances. The diesel engines will be compliant with EPA Tier 4 ultra-low emission standards.
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https://dallas.culturemap.com/news/city ... line-dart/

North Dallas roadway to close for a year for DART Silver line construction

Aportion of a major thoroughfare in North Dallas is about to be shut down for a year: Beginning Thursday, January 25, a portion of Hillcrest Road between McCallum Boulevard and Wester Way in North Dallas will be closed for a 52-week period as construction continues for the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Silver Line project.

DART and the City of Dallas have agreed to close the 1/5-mile section of Hillcrest Road to ensure the utmost safety for both the public and work crews while a grade separated rail crossing at Hillcrest is being constructed. The 52-week closure will begin on Thursday, January 25, 2024 and last until January 24, 2025. There will be no access to Hillcrest Road between McCallum Boulevard and Wester Way during this time.
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I still can't get over the fact that there's no plans to extend the Denton County A-Train ONE stop to connect to this.

MattW wrote: ↑Sat Jan 13, 2024 10:22 pm I still can't get over the fact that there's no plans to extend the Denton County A-Train ONE stop to connect to this.

I am sure DCTA would love to do so but lacks the funding to do so now. The freight tracks between the Trinity Mills Station and Beltline (downtown Carrolton) are not in great shape and will require upgrading, and probably an additional passing siding so trains could pass in opposite directions. Therefore, someone will have to do another environmental impact study Tier 1 and possibly another Tier 2 before any passenger service could be extended.
I do not believe any past study had considered this.
DART had in its present EIS study considered deadheading Silver Line trains to the DCTA maintenance facility, but revised it to build their own maintenance facilities in Plano instead. So I believe even "frequent" deadhead moves are not allowed.
Since these tracks are well within Dallas County, I am not so sure Denton County taxpayers will want to fund this expansion all by themselves. They certainly will wish for DART to contribute, which has enough funding for the Silver Line, but not for its next desired project under downtown Dallas. I am afraid it'll be years before anyone will have the funding to finance your proposal.

I could of said "Where was this 15 years ago?!?" when I went to a convention down in Addision, TX. The DART Silver Line would of made it a train and a bus ride away... which isn't bad!

This year, though, the convention has moved into Dallas itself, is accessible by the Orange line or Green line depending on the airport I end up flying to, and the old hotel that started the convention no longer is in operation.