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Trinity Railway Express

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  Trinity Railway Express
EMD F59PH at Dallas Union Station in November 2004
Overview
StatusOperating
OwnerDallas Area Rapid Transit (50%)
Trinity Metro (50%)
LocaleDallas–Fort Worth metroplex
Termini
Stations10
Service
TypeCommuter rail
Operator(s)Herzog Transit Services
Daily ridership8,200[1]
History
OpenedDecember 30, 1996
Technical
Line length34 mi (55 km)
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Route diagram
Trinity Railway Express
Legend
 T&P Station TEXRail Parking
Fort Worth Central Station
Amtrak TEXRail Greyhound Lines Parking
Texas Spur 280.svg SH Spur 280
6th Street Junction
I-35W.svg I-35W
Dalwor Junction
Trinity River
 Richland Hills
closed
2024
I-820.svg I-820
 Trinity Lakes Parking
Bell Parking
Texas 360.svg SH 360
 CentrePort/DFW Airport Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (via Bus interchange) Parking
Tarrant County
Dallas County
Maintenance facility
Toll Texas PGBT new.svg Pres. George Bush Turnpike
West Irving Parking
Texas 356.svg SH 356
W.C. Junction
Downtown Irving/
Heritage Crossing
Parking
E.C. Junction
Texas Loop 12.svg Loop 12
Trinity River
I-35E.svg I-35E
 Medical/Market Center
  Parking
Toll Texas DNT new.svg Dallas North Tollway
DART Light Rail orange Orange Line
to DFW Airport
.
DART Light Rail green Green Line
to North Carrollton/​Frankford
 Victory
Texas Spur 366.svg SH Spur 366
DART Light Rail red Red Line
to Parker Road
.
DART Light Rail blue Blue Line
to Downtown Rowlett
.
DART Light Rail green Green Line
to Buckner
 Dallas Union Station
Amtrak
DART Light Rail red Red Line
to Westmoreland
.
DART Light Rail blue Blue Line
to UNT Dallas
Handicapped/disabled access All stations are accessible

The Trinity Railway Express (TRE) is a commuter rail line in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It was established by an interlocal agreement between Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and Trinity Metro. Each transit authority owns a 50% stake in the joint rail project and contractor Herzog Transit Services operates the line. The TRE began operating in December 1996.[2][3]

As of the fourth quarter of 2014, the TRE has an average weekday ridership of 8,200 passengers per day and is the fifteenth most-ridden commuter rail system in the United States.[1] In 2014, the TRE carried 2,293,500 passengers.[1]

Before 2006, the TRE was typically shown as a green line on DART maps and therefore was sometimes referred to as the "Green Line," but this was not an official designation. In 2006, DART chose green as the color for its new light rail route, the Green Line. Since 2006, the TRE has been shown as a dark blue line on DART maps.

History

Named after the Trinity River, which flows between Fort Worth and Dallas, the TRE was launched on December 30, 1996,[2] shortly after the inaugural service of Dallas' DART Light Rail system, operating from Dallas Union Transit Station to the South Irving Transit Station.[4] It runs along a former Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad line that the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth purchased in 1983 for $34 million.[5]

Service initially operated only in weekday rush hours, but midday and evening service was added in December 1997,[5] and Saturday service was added in December 1998.[5][6]

On September 18, 2000, the line was extended to the suburb of Richland Hills[5] and, for the first time, there was rail service available between downtown Dallas and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. On November 13, 2000, the West Irving Transit Station also opened. On December 3, 2001, the TRE was extended to its current terminus at the T&P Station in downtown Fort Worth.[5]

Route

The eastern terminus of the TRE line is Dallas Union Station on the west side of downtown Dallas. The line runs northwest, past the American Airlines Center and Southwestern Medical Center, through Irving, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Hurst, and Richland Hills before ending with two stops in downtown Fort Worth (Fort Worth Central Station at 9th and Jones Streets and T&P Station on Throckmorton Street). There are a total of ten regular station stops, including a stop at Victory station (which until the opening of DART's Green line in September 2009, was used only for special events). Not all trains are through trains – a number of trains either terminate or originate at the CentrePort/DFW Airport station.

Rolling Stock

 Class  Image  Type(s)   Top speed   Number   Built 
 mph   km/h 
EMD F40PH Diesel Locomotive 110 177 2 1981-1985
EMD F59PH Diesel Locomotive 110 177 7 1988–1994

Late 2010 (Overhaul)

EMD F59PHI Diesel Locomotive 110 177 2 2001
Bombardier BiLevel Coach Passenger coach
Control Car 		95 150 25 1976–77
2003
2007
2009
Former fleet
Budd Rail Diesel Car,
type RDC-1[7] 		Diesel Multiple Unit 85[7] 137 13 1954–58

Diesel locomotives

TRE has a fleet of 11 locomotives.

There are seven EMD F59PH IV locomotives that were acquired from GO Transit.  The original numbers for these were #525, #527–528 and #565–568. These were overhauled in late 2010 by the Norfolk Southern Railway and RELCO Locomotive to meet EPA standards and renumbered 120–126.[8]

There are two EMD F59PHI locomotives that were purchased from EMD. The numbers for these are #569 and #570.

TRE acquired 2 F40PHs from Progress Rail in 2022. They are numbered 130 and 131.

Coaches

Former fleet

Until 2011, the TRE fleet included diesel multiple units, in the form of 13 Budd Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs) built in the 1950s for Canadian Pacific (9), Canadian National (3) and Boston & Maine (1).[9] They were purchased used from Via Rail Canada in 1993. All were remanufactured by GEC-Alsthom in Montreal. They entered service in March and April 1997[10] – after trains leased from Amtrak and the Connecticut Department of Transportation temporarily provided initial TRE service when the RDCs were not ready in time for the inauguration of TRE service[4] in December 1996 – and thereafter provided all service for the line's first two to three years. They remained in service for about 14 years, the last cars being taken off of TRE service in March 2011.[11] In 2010–2011, 11 of the 13 cars were leased to Denton County Transportation Authority for operation on the A-train. They were returned in 2012 and placed in storage at the TRE shops in Irving, Texas. In spring 2017, 12 RDCs were sold via auction to AllEarth Rail,[11][12] a Vermont-based private company that intends to use them to operate commuter rail service connecting the Vermont cities of Montpelier and Burlington.[12] AllEarth subsequently resold two of the TRE cars to TriMet, of Portland, Oregon,[13] before they had left Texas, and those two Dallas RDCs (Nos. 2007 and 2011) were moved in August 2017 from Texas to Oregon, where TriMet planned to use them on its WES Commuter Rail service.[14] The other 10 RDCs were moved to Vermont the same month.[13]

Train consist

Trinity Railway Express train with Bombardier BiLevel Coaches

Each train includes at least one locomotive unit and one bi-level cab car. Typically, one or two additional coach cars are included between the locomotive and cab car. Each cab car (and thus each train) has a restroom and passengers may move between cars during the trip. The trip from Union Station to T&P Station takes just over an hour, with scheduled trip times ranging from one hour, three minutes to one hour, eleven minutes. Track improvements are currently[when?] underway which should offer an improvement in travel times by double-tracking certain stations and sections of the route. Currently,[when?] portions of the route are single-track, requiring eastbound and westbound trains to meet only at certain points and requiring some eastbound trains to hold for 5–7 minutes to wait for a westbound train to get to the passing area.

Stations

Station Location Municipality Points of interest and notes
T&P Station Disabled access 221 W. Lancaster Avenue Fort Worth Connections:

Bus interchange Trinity Metro buses: 4 – East Rosedale, 6 – 8th Ave/McCart, Hulen Mall
Mainline rail interchange Trinity Metro Commuter Rail:      TEXRail

Fort Worth Central Station Disabled access 1001 Jones Street Points of interest:

Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth Water Gardens, Sundance Square
Connections:
Bus interchange Trinity Metro buses: 1 – Hemphill, 2 – Camp Bowie, 3 – S Riverside/TCC South Campus, 4 – E. Rosedale, 5a – Evans Avenue/ LaGran Plaza, 5b – Wichita/Glen Garden, 6 – 8th Ave/McCart, Hulen Mall , 7 – University Dr., 8 – Riverside/Evans, 9 – Ramey/Vickery, 10 – Bailey, 11 – NorthBeach/Heritage Trace, 12 – Samuels/Mercantile Center, 14 – Sylvania/NE 28th, 15 – Stockyards/North Main, 18 – Safari Express, 46 – Jacksboro Highway, 61 – Normandale Express, 63 – North Park & ride, 64 – North Texas Xpress, 65 – South Fort Worth Park & Ride Express, 66 – Candleridge/Altamesa Express, 89 – Spur*/E. Lancaster, DASH, Molly the Trolley
Mainline rail interchange Trinity Metro Commuter Rail:      TEXRail
Mainline rail interchange Amtrak Amtrak:      Heartland Flyer,      Texas Eagle

Richland Hills Disabled access 7225 Burns Street Richland Hills Connections:

Bus interchange Trinity Metro buses: 23 – TCC Northeast Campus/TRE

Bell Disabled access 3232 Bell Helicopter Boulevard Hurst Points of interest:

Bell Helicopter main plant
Connections:
Bus interchange Trinity Metro buses: 111 – Bell Helicopter Shuttle

CentrePort/DFW Airport Disabled access 14470 Statler Boulevard Fort Worth Connections:

Bus interchange Trinity Metro buses: 30 – Centreport Circulator (East/West/Amon Carter Loops) and 31 – TRE Link to DFW Airport Rental Car Center
Airport interchange Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport

West Irving Disabled access 4200 Jackson Street Irving

Connections:
Bus interchange DART buses: 505 – University of Dallas station, 514 – Hwy 183 and Carl Road

Downtown Irving/Heritage Crossing Disabled access 201 Rock Island Road Connections:

Bus interchange DART buses: 63 – Downtown Dallas, 401 – MacArthur Blvd. & Cowboys Way, 408 – Southwestern Medical District/Parkland Station, 501 – Irving Convention Center station, 504 – North Lake College station, 507 – Irving Convention Center station, 508 – University of Dallas Station, 514 – Hwy 183 and Carl Road, 549 – Westmoreland station, 840 – Downtown Irving/Heritage Crossing FLEX

Medical/Market Center Disabled access Medical District Drive & Southwestern Medical Avenue Dallas Points of interest:

Parkland Memorial Hospital, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Children's Medical Center Dallas, and Dallas Market Center
Connections:
Bus interchange DART buses: 705 – Parkland Shuttle, 822 – UT Southwestern Medical Center Shuttle, 823 – UT Southwestern Medical Center Shuttle

Victory Disabled access 2525 Victory Avenue Points of interest:

American Airlines Center, Katy Trail, and Victory Park
Connections:
Bus interchange DART buses: 749 – Stemmons-Design District Metro interchange DART Light Rail:      Green Line      Orange Line

Union Station Disabled access 400 S. Houston Street Points of interest:

Reunion Tower and Dealey Plaza
Connections:
Bus interchange DART buses: 11 – Cockrell Hill Transfer Location, 19, 21 – Downtown Dallas, 60 – South Garland Transit Center
Metro interchange DART Light Rail:      Blue Line      Red Line
Mainline rail interchange Amtrak Amtrak:      Texas Eagle

References

  1. ^ a b c APTA (March 3, 2015). "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter and End-of-Year 2014" (pdf). American Public Transportation Association. Retrieved January 1, 2016 – via http://www.apta.com/resources/statistics/Pages/ridershipreport.aspx. {{cite web}}: External link in |via= (help)
  2. ^ a b Dickson, Gordon (November 26, 2016). "20 years later, there's plenty to love (and not) about the TRE". Star-Telegram. Fort Worth, Texas. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  3. ^ Mueller, Sarah (February 16, 2010). "Dallas woman killed Monday by TRE train identified". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  4. ^ a b Cumbie, Jim (Spring 1997). "Dallas—Phase 2". The New Electric Railway Journal. pp. 12–13.
  5. ^ a b c d e Van Hattem, Matt (July 2, 2006). "Trinity Railway Express: The commuter railroad linking Dallas and Fort Worth". Trains. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  6. ^ Wolinsky, Julian (March 1999). "Commuter/Transit [regular monthly news section]". RailNews. p. 30.
  7. ^ a b Wallace, Rich (March 1997). "Dallas Welcomes Trinity Commuter Railway". RailNews. p. 13. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  8. ^ "Trinity Railway Express receives upgraded F59PHs". Trains Magazine. December 13, 2010. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
  9. ^ Metroplex mover Trains May 1999 pages 50-52
  10. ^ Wallace, Rich (May 1997). "Questions and Answers for Dallas' Commuter Rail". RailNews. pp. 11–12. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  11. ^ a b Fancher, Julie (April 14, 2017). "DART is selling these cool vintage railcars". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  12. ^ a b "Vermont solar panel company buys RDCs". Trains. April 10, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  13. ^ a b Hall, C.B. (August 15, 2017). "AllEarth's commuter rail Budd cars pull into Vermont". Vermont Business Magazine. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  14. ^ "Worldwide Review [regular monthly news section]". Tramways & Urban Transit. UK: LRTA Publishing. October 2017. p. 394. ISSN 1460-8324.
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