TEXRail

TEXRail
Overview
Other name(s)	Tarrant Express Railway
Type	Commuter rail
System	Trinity Metro (formerly Fort Worth Transportation Authority)
Status	Under construction
Locale	Tarrant County Texas, USA
Termini	T&P Station DFW Airport Station
Stations	9
Services	1
Daily ridership	8,000 (estimated)
Website	texrail.com
Operation
Planned opening	December 31, 2018 (2018-12-31) (preview) January 5, 2019 (2019-01-05) (full service)
Owner	Trinity Metro
Operator(s)	Trinity Metro
Rolling stock	8 Stadler FLIRT
Technical
Line length	27.2 mi (43.8 km)
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Operating speed	Up to 70 mph (110 km/h)
Route map T&P Station Fort Worth ITC Trinity Railway Express to Dallas Union Station Grapevine Vintage Railroad to Fort Worth Stockyards North Side SH 183 I-35W TEXRail Equipment Maintenance Facility Mercantile Center FWWR Junction US 377 I-820 North Richland Hills/Iron Horse North Richland Hills/Smithfield SH 114 Grapevine-Main Street Cotton Belt Rail Line to Shiloh Road (planned) Orange Line to Parker Road DFW Airport-North Orange Line to Parker Road DFW Airport/Terminal B

TEXRail (also known as the Tarrant Express Railway) is an under-construction commuter rail line in Tarrant County, Texas, United States that will provide service from southwest Fort Worth to DFW International Airport via Grapevine and other Tarrant County communities. It is being constructed by Trinity Metro (formerly Fort Worth Transportation Authority) and is scheduled to open on January 5, 2019,^[1] with a preview service on December 31, 2018.^[1][2] The new line is expected to cost $1 billion.^[3] This segment of the Cotton Belt Rail Line will be operated independent of the other two segments, as it is being built by Trinity Metro, instead of DART, who will be building the other segments.

Officials with Trinity Metro are hoping the new rail line will entice non-member cities along the line to join the transit agency in its quest to become a regional transit entity. Cities along the route include Colleyville, Haltom City and North Richland Hills. The route also goes through small parts of Hurst and Southlake. Unlike Grapevine, those cities do not have room under the state-mandated 8.25% sales tax cap for the 1/2 cent need to join. Trinity Metro will not build a station along the line in those cities unless they become a member city first.

History

Grapevine citizens voted 8,058-2,898 on November 7, 2006 to levy a full cent sales tax, of which three-eights of a cent would authorize Grapevine to contract with Trinity Metro for rail service and another 1/8 cent for other transit improvements, like a downtown parking garage.^[4] This includes an expansion of the commuter rail system to link southwest Fort Worth to the north end of DFW International Airport.

Trinity Metro's Board of Directors finalized their plans in October 2006 for the southwest-to-northeast expansion. Two commuter routes, a light rail route and a bus rapid transit route were under consideration. The Board's recommendation was a commuter rail line that runs in the southwest part of the city near Sycamore School Road, running near Texas Christian University and the Medical District on its way to the existing T&P Station and Fort Worth Intermodal Transportation Center. At that point it turns northwest toward the Stockyards before turning northeast toward DFW International Airport. Preliminary plans call for nine new stations with eleven total, ^[5] and could be contingent on other cities along the corridor joining the agency.

A proposal to use private funding to construct both TEXRail and DART's Dallas County segment was considered, but this plan was abandoned after necessary legislation was not passed in the State Legislature.^[6] Following this legislative defeat, Trinity Metro began pursuing federal grant funds in order to build TEXRail.^[6] On March 5, 2014, it was announced that the TEXRail project would receive $50 million in federal grant funds from President Barack Obama's 2015 New Starts Funding Budget.^[7]

In April 2015, Trinity Metro approved a contract for pre-construction services, awarded to an Archer Western Contractors/Herzog Contracting Corp (Archer Western Herzog) a joint venture, as well as approving the final design for the Iron Horse and Smithfield Road stations.^[8]

On June 9, 2015, Trinity Metro ordered an initial eight Stadler Rail 4-car articulated FLIRT3 (Fast Light Innovative Regional Train) DMUs.^[8] The contract was valued at $106.7 million, with an option for up to 24 additional DMUs, and includes the supply of components for 10 years. This is Switzerland-based Stadler's first order in the US for any model outside its Stadler GTW product line, therefore making it subject to the regulations of the Buy America Act. As such, one element of the contract is that the final assembly of the trains will take place in the US, at their plant in Salt Lake City. ^[9][10][11]

That same month, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) gave approval for the project to advance into the engineering phase that immediately precedes the start of construction.^[12] In June 2016, Trinity Metro received a Letter of No Prejudice from the FTA, essentially green-lighting the project. In reaction to this, Trinity Metro said they planned to start preliminary construction in July 2016, on track for a planned opening date in December 2018.^[13] DFW Airport also said they would provide the $40 million to build the station at Terminal B, with an opening date in late 2018.^[14]

Construction on the line officially started on August, 24, 2016, with a groundbreaking held at Grapevine's historic depot, the site of Grapevine-Main Street station.^[15]

Operations

Estimated travel time from T&P Station to DFW International Airport is estimated to be approximately 52 minutes.^[16]

Stations

Stations tentatively expected to open in late 2018:^[17]

Rolling stock

A Stadler FLIRT trainset, similar to those that will be used on TEXRail.

Trinity Metro will provide TEXRail service using Stadler FIRT3 self-propelled Diesel Multiple Units capable of seating 229 passengers and carrying up to 488 passengers.^[17][16] In TEXRail application, the diesel power module contains two 520 kW (1400 hp) Deutz AG TCD 16.0 V8 that complies with US EPA Tier 4 emission standard.

The first TEXRail train set from Stadler was delivered in November 2017, with additional sets delivered in March 2018, May 2018, and August 2018. Equipment testing and crew training started in late March 2018 east of Grapevine and at the equipment maintenance facility in northeast Fort Worth.

Each rail vehicle is configured with an operator cab at either end for bidirectional movement. At the center of the train is the power pack with two diesel engines, with a passageway to allow access to other parts of the train, and allows it to be much quieter than traditional commuter rail. TEXRail vehicle amenities include USB ports equipped at every seat, work tables, lap trays, a quiet car, ADA compliant level boarding, overhead luggage racks, bike racks, and a restroom near the center of each train.^[18][16]

References

External links

• Official website