Update:
April 5, 2022, to include the estimated completion date.
What’s the status of the DART Silver Line from Plano to DFW Airport?
The agency purchased the route in 1990 and is nearing the final stages of construction on the project.
After three decades of planning, Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s $1.2 billion Silver Line from southeast Plano to DFW Airport is set to open in late 2024.
Here’s what you need to know about the 26-mile rail line.
It was originally supposed to open in 2022. Why was construction delayed?
“There were delays caused by manpower issues, construction schedules,” DART spokesman Gordon Shattles told The Dallas Morning News in May 2021. “Those were the two big ones. Of course, the COVID pandemic hit all of us pretty hard, but it definitely pushed us back about a year in the final construction of the Silver Line.”
What is the Cotton Belt Corridor and how did DART come to acquire part of it?
In 1990, DART bought the Silver Line’s route, the Cotton Belt Corridor, a 52-mile railway running between Fort Worth and Wylie. Building a DART route along the corridor was part of the agency’s original transit plan.
How much time would it take someone to get from Plano to the airport?
The ride from 12th Street in Plano to DFW Airport is 59 minutes, Shattles said.
Where at the airport will the Silver Line drop off passengers?
The Silver Line station will be at Terminal B, Shattles said, while the Orange Line station is located at Terminal A.
Will riders be able to connect to other rail lines?
Shattles said DART leases the Tarrant County section of the Cotton Belt Line to Trinity Metro, which operates the TEXRail line from DFW Airport to downtown Fort Worth.
Where are the Silver Line stations?
- Shiloh Road in Plano
- 12th Street in Plano
- CityLine/Bush in Richardson
- UT Dallas
- Knoll Trail in Dallas
- Addison
- Downtown Carrollton
- Cypress Waters in Dallas, near Coppell
- DFW Airport North
- DFW Airport Terminal B
How has DART responded to Silver Line neighbors who are concerned about potential noise?
Shattles said the agency is constructing dual-sided walls to absorb sound, as well as using a train that he said is “quiet to begin with.”
“In addition to that, we’ve actually installed wheel skirts, a panel that actually covers the wheels,” he said.
“Most noise on a train that goes by is the sound of the wheels making contact with the rail. This additional panel will prevent excess noise from leaving that area.”
What trains will the Silver Line use?
The model, known as a FLIRT, or a Fast Light Intercity and Regional Train, is developed by a Swiss company called Stadler. The first FLIRTs in the U.S. were used on Tarrant County’s TexRail line, according to Metro Magazine.
The company secured a $119 million contract with DART to assemble eight FLIRT trains as part of the Silver Line project, the magazine reported. The vehicles can hold 240 seated and 225 standing passengers.
Related links
Plano receives 16,000 feet of additional rail for DART Silver Line construction
Addison gets all aboard DART’s new Silver Line with plans for $500 million project
DART’s Silver Line from Plano to DFW Airport moves forward as rails arrive for construction
As DART plans more work for Cotton Belt line, Far North Dallas residents continue pushback
UT Dallas DART station in Richardson to feature 8-foot high sculpture of university logo
DART receiving $229 million in CARES Act relief to boost operations during pandemic
