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38-563: The Silver Line , also known as the Cotton Belt Rail Line , is an under construction 26-mile (42 km) hybrid rail (light rail with some features similar to commuter rail) line traversing Collin , Dallas , and Tarrant Counties in the U.S. state of Texas operated by Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART). The line will provide service from Dallas's northeast suburbs of Plano , Richardson , and Addison to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Terminal B. According to DART,

76-424: A second track along the entire length of the line, which is anticipated to reduce wait times between commuter trains, avert delays during construction and maintenance, and better accommodate freight trains using the line. This design change is projected to cost $ 109 million, raising the design-build contract to its maximum allowable price of $ 923 million. Construction commenced in 2019 after DART secured

114-465: A $ 908 million Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing federal loan from November 2018 to pay for most of the projected $ 1.1 billion cost. To cover the remainder of the line's cost, DART has asked some cities to pick up a share of the tab to help pay for the costs of stations in places where the line diverts from the freight track's path. Service was initially scheduled to begin by December 28, 2022. On June 24, 2019, DART announced that

152-544: A large number of other passengers not boarding or alighting. The structure of the rail station can also have an effect on dwell times. Narrow platforms, structural elements in front of doors, or generally poor access in and out of the station, can all have an effect on dwell times. Passengers need to wait within the train for others to move away, so that they may alight. Older stations, especially those constructed before World War I , are often quite constrained in space, and passenger flow rates can be very poor. One solution to

190-484: A less costly alternative for current funding. DART announced in late August 2016 that the project could be fast tracked and completed by as early as 2022, after DART secured funds needed to complete the project. In late August 2018, the DART board voted to accept a plan which eliminated two previously-proposed stations, reducing the number of planned stations to 10. On February 12, 2019, the DART board approved construction of

228-539: A light rail system, but like commuter rail, they are typically powered by diesel engines over tracks which may be shared with freight trains (which typically only operate overnight, when passenger service has stopped). Unlike most commuter rail systems which only operate during the weekday peak travel periods, hybrid rail systems operate all-day, every day, but typically at longer headways than light rail. The following table lists entirely new light rail, streetcar, or hybrid rail systems under construction. Systems that are in

266-642: A new American light rail vehicle was a technical failure. After World War II, the Germans retained their streetcar (Straßenbahn) networks and evolved them into model light rail systems ( Stadtbahn ). The renaissance of light rail in the United States began in 1981, when the first truly second-generation light rail system was inaugurated in the United States, the San Diego Trolley in California, which adopted use of

304-639: A total of 53 operational light rail-type lines and systems (noting that some cities, such as Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco and Seattle, have more than one light rail system) that offer regular year-round transit service in the United States: 26 modern light rail systems, 14 modern streetcar systems, and 13 heritage streetcar systems (including the San Francisco cable car system ). The first-generation legacy systems are typically vestigial elements of sprawling streetcar systems that were decommissioned from

342-490: A trolley pole system of collecting current by American inventor Frank J. Sprague who installed the first successful electrified trolley system in Richmond, Virginia in 1888. They became popular because roads were then poorly surfaced, and before the invention of the internal combustion engine and the advent of motor-buses, they were the only practical means of public transport around cities. The streetcar systems constructed in

380-666: Is approximately 1.5 hours as it requires travel through downtown Dallas. Each train will be staffed by an engineer and a conductor . To allow for flexibility of assignments with a small overall staff, engineers and conductors will be cross-trained, certified, and qualified in both areas. As of 2018, four companies move freight along the corridor: the Fort Worth and Western Railroad ; the Dallas, Garland and Northeastern Railroad ; BNSF ; and Kansas City Southern . The short line operations are limited to periods of non-peak passenger movements, but

418-467: Is estimated to have 7,000 to 8,000 riders a day by 2045. Hybrid rail Light rail is a mode of rail-based transport, usually urban in nature. When compared to heavy rail systems like commuter rail or rapid transit (subway), light rail systems are typically designed to carry fewer passengers and are capable of operating in mixed traffic ( street running ) or on routes that are not entirely grade-separated. Systems typically take one of four forms:

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456-658: Is northward. The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) in a 2022 meeting discussed the possibility of rail expansion beyond the current northern terminus Parker Road Station from Plano through Allen to McKinney . Either the Red Line or the Silver Line could be extended north. The study proposed seven stations between the current Parker Road Station and the hypothetical northern terminus Downtown McKinney Station. The extension would be 18 miles (29 km) long, cost between $ 700 million and $ 900 million to construct, and

494-467: Is proposed that trains would operate in both directions every 30 minutes during the peak travel periods on weekdays of 6:00 am – 9:00 am and 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm and every hour during the non-peak travel periods of 9:00 am – 3:00 pm and after 7:00 pm. Service on Saturday, Sunday, and major holidays would be from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm operating in both directions every 60 minutes throughout the day. The estimated one-way travel time from DART's Shiloh Road station to

532-515: The Class I railroads are independently dispatched. The Silver Line will run approximately 26 miles (42 km) between Plano to DFW International Airport. Together, the line would connect with the Trinity Metro TEXRail commuter rail line at DFW North station providing access to Downtown Fort Worth , Grapevine, and various other Tarrant County locales. The line would also connect with

570-931: The Denton County Transportation Authority A-train commuter rail line providing access to various Denton County locales and DART's Green , Orange , and Red lines providing access to Dallas Love Field and Downtown Dallas via Downtown Carrollton or CityLine/Bush stations. In total, the alignment will traverse through three Counties including Tarrant, Dallas, and Collin Counties and seven cities including Grapevine, Coppell, Dallas, Carrollton, Addison, Richardson, and Plano. All stations will be designed for accessibility . There are 10 under construction stations including: Eight Stadler FLIRT (Fast Light Intercity and Regional Train) diesel multiple unit (DMU) trainsets were ordered in June 2019 to operate on

608-731: The San Diego Trolley , which ushered in several systems that generally feature large multi-car trains that travel larger distances, and make fewer stops, on exclusive rights-of-way. These systems were inspired by the German Stadtbahn (English: city rail) systems. The modern streetcar era started in 2001 with the Portland Streetcar , which inspired several other systems that generally feature smaller single-car trains that travel on short routes, with frequent stops, in lanes that are shared with automobile traffic (street running). There are also some heritage streetcar lines, which operate in

646-575: The "first-generation" legacy systems, the "second-generation" modern light rail systems, streetcars, and hybrid rail systems (light rail with some commuter rail features). All of the systems use similar technologies, and some systems blur the lines between the different forms. The United States, with its 27 systems (as counted by the Light Rail Transit Association ), has a much larger number of "true" light rail systems (not including streetcar systems), by far, compared to any other country in

684-473: The 1950s onward through approximately 1970 as automobile usage increased. These systems were spared that fate due to these systems having high ridership and typically some form of exclusive right of way. Many of these streetcar systems have been at least partly upgraded to more closely resemble the more modern second-generation light rail systems, while some continue to operate with few changes The second-generation of modern light rail systems began in 1981 with

722-500: The 19th and early 20th centuries typically only ran in single-car setups. Some rail lines experimented with multiple unit configurations, where streetcars were joined to make short trains, but this did not become common until later. When lines were built over longer distances (typically with a single track) before good roads were common, they were generally called interurban streetcars or radial railways in North America. Historically,

760-599: The Cotton Belt corridor has been labeled for future expansion. Although no planning has occurred, it would extend the route from Shiloh Road in Plano to Wylie, with stations in the downtowns of Murphy and Wylie . Neither of these towns are DART member cities. The Environmental Impact Statement released in 2018 suggests that trains may eventually run along the TEXRail corridor to Fort Worth . Another possibility for Silver Line expansion

798-590: The Cotton Belt, which previously owned the line. DART purchased the right-of-way in 1990 for future transit use. Cotton Belt service along the line has been in planning since the original 1983 DART Service Plan. DART previously bought the right-of-way to the 52-mile (84 km) Cotton Belt corridor train tracks in 1990 and freight trains had since ceased use of the tracks. The line was also included in DART's 2030 Transit System Plan. However, in 2010 DART scrapped much of their 2030 plan, citing deficits and drops in revenue. A proposal to use private funding to construct both

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836-534: The DFW Airport/Terminal B station is 60 minutes (and 59 minutes in the opposite direction). These run times include station dwell times of 30 seconds at all stations except for Downtown Carrollton, Addison Transit Center, CityLine/Bush, and 12th Street, where dwell times are one minute. Estimated travel time from the DART Orange Line CityLine/Bush station to DFW Airport Terminal A station

874-534: The Dallas County and Tarrant County segments was considered, but this plan was abandoned after the Texas Legislature failed to enact legislation necessary to the plan during the 2013 state legislative session. DART officials stated that without private funding options, the agency would not be able to build out the line until at least the mid-2030s. DART considered the possibility of using bus rapid transit as

912-607: The German Siemens-Duewag U2 light rail vehicle. (This was just three years after the first North American second-generation light rail system opened in the Canadian city of Edmonton , Alberta in 1978, and which used the same German Siemens-Duewag U2 vehicles as San Diego). Other North American cities, particularly on the West Coast, began planning their own light rail systems in the 1980s. As of March 2020 , there are

950-628: The Silver Line is "designed to provide a high-speed, reliable transit option for residents and commuters with connections to the existing and planned transit systems" and aims to improve transit travel times by providing an alternative to congested roadway networks. The working name for the project, the Cotton Belt Rail Line, comes from a former subsidiary of the Southern Pacific Railroad , the St. Louis Southwestern Railway , commonly known as

988-615: The Silver Line. This will make DART the fourth transit agency in Texas to use Stadler Rail DMUs, after orders for the Denton County Transportation Authority A-train , Capital MetroRail in Austin , and TEXRail . It is the third system in the United States to use FLIRT DMUs, TEXRail being the first, and the Arrow in San Bernardino County, California , being the second. An additional segment of

1026-407: The dwell times are high. Dwell times are an important focus for rail systems; a reduction in a dwell time can often result in a reduced headway. Passengers who want to board and alight from a train need time to do so. Almost always passengers disembark first, and then passengers waiting on a platform board. A variety of different factors determine how long this takes, including the size of the door on

1064-462: The line would be named the Silver Line, bringing the service under the same general branding as the agency's light rail system. By 2020 the opening had slipped to March 2023, with further delays to 2024 announced the following year. In January 2023, further delays placed the anticipated service date in late 2025 to mid-2026. Service would be offered seven days per week, with more frequent service during weekday morning and evening peak periods. It

1102-413: The mid-19th century onwards, horse-drawn trams (or horsecars) were used in cities around the world. The St. Charles Avenue Line of New Orleans' streetcar system is the oldest continuously operating street railway system in the world, beginning operation as a horse-drawn system in 1835. From the late 1880s onwards, electrically powered street railways became technically feasible following the invention of

1140-431: The number of passengers needing to board and alight from a vehicle. Density imbalance along the platform and between vehicles is mainly due to human and motivational factors (minimising distance and time at the arrival) In the case of bus transit in particular, one cause for major delays at stops is passengers using a wheelchair lift . Often, the driver will also be required to secure the passenger in addition to operating

1178-504: The old and new systems. In the United States, most of the original first-generation streetcar systems were decommissioned from the 1950s onward through approximately 1970 as the usage of the automobile increased through government policy. Although a few traditional streetcar or trolley systems still exist to this day the term "light rail" has come to mean a different type of rail system. Modern light rail technology has primarily German origins, since an attempt by Boeing Vertol to introduce

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1216-604: The other city in North America with a continuing first-generation streetcar system. Additionally, a seventh American city, Cleveland, maintained an interurban system (e.g. the Blue and Green Lines) equivalent to what is now "light rail", that opened before World War I , and which is still in operation to this day. When several of these cities upgraded to new technology (e.g. San Francisco, Newark, and Pittsburgh), they called it "light rail" to differentiate it from their existing streetcar systems since some continued to operate portions of both

1254-545: The planning stages but not yet under construction (e.g. Glassboro–Camden Line , Interborough Express , and the Austin CapMetro Rail Project Connect system), are not listed; expansions of existing systems are also not listed here. Other transit in the United States: Dwell time (transportation) Dwell times are particularly important for a rail system. Rail headways increase where

1292-810: The problem of long dwell times, particularly at busy stations, is to design stations with platforms on both sides of the train. This is called the Spanish Solution . Dwell times for rail services to airports can be very long. Passengers are carrying luggage, and this makes boarding and alighting take much longer. Airport rail links have become popular since the 1970s and many new airports are constructed with high speed rail connections . Specialised trains with locations to store luggage can help reduce dwell times, but on metro rail systems, passengers with luggage can be crowded in with all other passengers. The main predictor of dwell times varies widely by mode, time, and line. However, dwell times are usually affected mostly by

1330-744: The rail gauge has had considerable variations, with a variety of gauges common in many early systems (e.g. the broad Pennsylvania trolley gauge , etc. used by New Orleans' streetcars and by the light rail systems in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh). However, most modern second-generation light rail systems now operate on standard gauge rail. After World War II , six major cities in the United States (Boston, Newark, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco) continued to operate large first-generation streetcar systems, although most of them were later converted to modern light rail standards. Toronto in Canada marks

1368-482: The same manner using vintage vehicles or historic vehicle replicas, which have been built before and after the modern streetcar movement. Hybrid rail systems, routes operating on the national rail network which do not operate with commuter rail characteristics, were introduced in 2004 with New Jersey's River Line. Hybrid rail systems operate vehicles which do not meet Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) guidelines, usually (but not always) small multiple unit railcars like

1406-416: The train, the number of passengers waiting to board, or the step height from the platform to the floor of the car of the vehicle. Metro rail systems attempt to solve the problem of long dwell times by designing large numbers of doors in the rolling stock. Another solution is to increase the width of doors, but that is often ineffective as there are other bottlenecks within the rail vehicle, such as stairs, or

1444-499: The world (the next largest are Germany with 10 and Japan with 9). According to the American Public Transportation Association , of the roughly 30 cities with light rail systems in the United States, the light rail systems in six of them ( Boston , Los Angeles , Philadelphia , Portland (Oregon) , San Diego , and San Francisco ) achieve more than 30 million unlinked passenger transits per year . From

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