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$2 billion Silver Line launches
BY MICHAEL CROUCHLEY & CODY THORN
The big picture
Key:
DART's Silver Line
12th Street Station 44 minutes to the airport
Nearly two decades after its initial conception, the 26-mile, $2 billion Silver Line commuter rail from transportation agency Dallas Area Rapid Transit is now open. As of Oct. 25, riders can hop on the train in Plano and travel to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport in less than an hour. The Silver Line has two stations in Plano, on 12th Street and Shiloh Road, and eight additional stations that touch Richardson, Dallas, Addison, Carrollton, Coppell and Grapevine. DART CEO Nadine Lee called the Silver Line’s opening the “realization of a promise kept to our riders and our region.” “This moment captures what we mean when we talk about moving [DART] from being seen as just a transit system to becoming a regional economic and mobility asset,” Lee said. Gary Slagel, former DART board of directors chair, added that the Silver Line is a major piece in providing “rail connectivity across the entire metroplex.” “We have a vision to get you from your house to anywhere you need to go in the metroplex using DART,” Slagel said. “We went through some di cult times to get here, but we are here today.”
Plano
12TH STREET STATION
PHOTOS BY MICHAEL CROUCHLEY
DNT TOLL
DOWNTOWN CARROLLTON STATION
SHILOH ROAD STATION
289
Coppell
UT DALLAS STATION
KNOLL TRAIL STATION
Grapevine
PGBT TOLL
PGBT TOLL
CITYLINE BUSH STATION
121
ADDISON STATION
75
CYPRESS WATERS STATION
Addison
DFW AIRPORT NORTH STATION
Richardson
35E
114
DNT TOLL
635
635
DFW AIRPORT TERMINAL B STATION
Shiloh Road Station 47 minutes to the airport
114
PGBT TOLL
121
MAP NOT TO SCALE N
SOURCE: DALLAS AREA RAPID TRANSIT COMMUNITY IMPACT
What’s next
Another thing
Projected daily riders
TEXRail ridership Ridership on TEXRail has nearly tripled since the COVID-19 pandemic based on scal year numbers. The train runs from Fort Worth to Terminal B at the airport.
877,296
800K 600K 400K 200K 0
Silver Line
TOTAL RIDERS
1,000 1,500 2,000
2019 2020
2021
2022 2023 2024 2025
0 500
SOURCES: DALLAS AREA RAPID TRANSIT, TRINITY METRO COMMUNITY IMPACT
The Silver Line becomes the third train option that runs to DFW Airport. “It brings another direct rail option to DFW, making the airport more accessible to residents and visitors across the region,” said Dean Ahmad, DFW Airport’s vice president of parking. “It’s another connection point into the global network of DFW’s airline partners.” DART’s Orange Line was the rst, debuting in 2014, and Trinity Metro’s TEXRail started service in 2019. TEXRail’s 27-mile stretch from Fort Worth T&P Station to Terminal B cost $39 million and was completed in 19 months, according to a previous news release.
2025 2026 2027 2028 2029
Silver Line ridership
SOURCE: DALLAS AREA RAPID TRANSIT COMMUNITY IMPACT
DART anticipates growth to more than 2,100 riders daily in the next two years, and the agency is allocating $587.2 million investment into the Silver Line through 2029. Those gures could be altered if Plano voters elect to leave DART during a special election next May. Lee said services would halt in Plano the day after the election if a withdrawal from the system was approved.
16,000 rst weekend riders (Oct. 25-26)
11,200 daily riders projected (2040) 4 rail connections: Orange, Green, Red and TEXRail
In 2024, Trinity Metro changed trips from every hour to every 30 minutes to DFW Airport due to demand, according to previous reporting.
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PLANO NORTH EDITION
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