Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Light Rail Expansion Project, USA

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) provides a broad range of transportation services in Dallas, Texas (USA) from bus and rail services to High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes. The company has planned over the next three years to increase its rail service by nearly 50 miles.

The light rail system, which is part of the overall project, is currently under construction.

LIGHT RAIL SERVICE

The development of the light rail service is seen as an opportunity to reduce urban traffic in the busiest roads as well as revitalising different areas of the city and develop Dallas' surrounding cities.

The light rail improvement is part of one of the nation's largest transit expansion programmes, introducing a network of bus, paratransit, light rail, commuter rail and high occupancy vehicle lanes across 13 cities around Dallas, serving an area of approximately 700 square miles.

The overall project was approved after the Dallas voters decided with 77% of favourable votes to improve the transport network in and around Dallas. The improvements will include modernising and creating new rail lines, purchasing new buses and rail cars (55 more) and creating new high occupancy vehicle lines.

DART PROJECT TIMESCALE

The timescales of the two lines, which constitute the light rail project, are shown below.

Blue line construction:

Red line construction:

RAIL CONSTRUCTION

DART's Project Management team has already completed its final design for the construction of the North Central Rail section, which is part of the light rail expansion project. The first aerial station is under construction and the all rail sector is expected to be operational by the year 2002/2003.

Based on community input and higher than expected ridership on the current system, DART will phase in the opening of 2 light rail extensions as construction contracts along those lines are completed. In addition DART will build a double track rail system, allowing trains to operate inbound and outbound at any time.

By 2010 more than 185,000 passengers are expected to ride the light rail each day. To achieve this Dart has ordered 55 more light rail vehicles and is also expanding rail construction as well as rail station construction.

The new system has two lines:

• DART's blue line which presently runs north from the new Ledbetter station, in the South Oak cliff section of Dallas, across the Trinity River, trough downtown Dallas ending at Pearl Station. This line will extend north to Mockingbird Station, then 11 miles northeast to Garland.

• The Red Line which will extend north from Park Lane Station (Park Lane and Greenville Avenue) 12 miles to Plano on the former Southern Pacific Railroad Company alignment. Under the new phased rail station opening plan, the next section to open along this line will run from Park Lane Station to a new station south of LBJ Freeway near Floyd Road.

LIGHT RAIL STARTER SYSTEM

Through early 2000, more than $800 million in private funds has been invested in development along DART's $860 million, 20 mile Light Rail Starter System. These revenues are coming from Federal funds and State funds such as sales taxes, investment income and short term financing.

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