Dallas Streetcar

The Dallas Streetcar is a 2.45-mile (3.94 km) modern streetcar line in Dallas, Texas.[1] It is owned by the city of Dallas and operated by Dallas Area Rapid Transit, which also operates Dallas's DART Light Rail system. Construction on the line began in May 2013,[2][3] and it opened for public service on April 13, 2015.[4][5][6]

Dallas Streetcar
A streetcar in the Oak Cliff area in 2016
Overview
OwnerCity of Dallas
LocaleDallas, Texas, USA
Transit typeStreetcar
Number of lines1
Number of stations6
Operation
Began operationApril 13, 2015
Operator(s)Dallas Area Rapid Transit
CharacterStreet running
Number of vehicles4 BEC Liberty cars
Train length1 car
Headway20 minutes
Technical
System length2.45 mi (3.94 km)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification750 V DC Overhead wires and Onboard energy storage system, battery power
Route diagram
Planned extension
to McKinney Avenue Trolley
TRE and Texas Eagle
Red and Blue Lines
 Union Station │ Houston
Red and Blue Lines
Texas Eagle
I-35
Trinity River
 Greenbriar
 Oakenwald
 Beckley
 Sixth Street
 Bishop Arts

The streetcar line operates between downtown Dallas and Oak Cliff by way of the Houston Street Viaduct.[7] The streetcar line originally operated from Union Station to Methodist Dallas Medical Center, but an extension to the Bishop Arts District[1][7][8] opened on August 29, 2016.[9][10]

Background

The Dallas Streetcar project is a collaborative endeavor among DART, the City of Dallas, and the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG).[4][7][11] The project received $23 million in initial funding via a federal TIGER grant awarded to DART in December 2010.[8] An additional $3 million in federal stimulus dollars was later granted to the project.[4] DART reallocated $22 million in local funds to the streetcar project which were originally scheduled for a proposed people-mover between Inwood Love/Field station and the Love Field airport terminal.[8] In January 2013, NCTCOG approved reallocating $31 million in state funds, which were also earmarked for the proposed Love Field people-mover, to the streetcar project.[8] The combined funding would allow for construction of both the first and second phases of the streetcar project.[8]

Service

Phase 1 (Union Station to Dallas Methodist Medical Center)

Phase 1 of the Dallas Streetcar line, running from Union Station to Methodist Dallas Medical Center (the line's "Beckley" stop), opened on April 13, 2015.[4] Service runs at 20-minute intervals on weekdays,[1][7] with no cost to ride.[1] In February 2016, streetcar operating hours will be expanded to between 9:30am and midnight weeknights, and will offer weekend service.[12][13]

Construction on Phase 1 began in May 2013.[2][3] By September 2014, most track construction for Phase 1 had been completed.[14] The first of the two streetcars on order from Brookville was delivered on March 20, 2015.[15] At the time of the phase 1 opening on April 13, 2015, the second streetcar vehicle had yet to be delivered.[6] It was delivered on May 15, 2015.[16]

Phase 2 (Dallas Methodist Medical Center to Bishop Arts District)
A streetcar turning from Zang Blvd. onto Colorado Blvd., outbound on the 2015-opened section of the line

Phase 2 of the Dallas Streetcar line runs south from the line's original southern terminus at Methodist Dallas Medical Center (Beckley stop), to the Bishop Arts District in Oak Cliff.[1][17] On April 28, 2015, the DART board of directors approved a construction contract for the Bishop Arts extension.[18] On June 17, 2015, the Dallas City Council agreed to fund Phase 2 construction using up to $27.5 million in available grant money.[19]

In preparation for the Phase 2 opening, DART said that the frequency of service would increase from 30 minutes to 20 minutes by introducing a second streetcar on the line.[20] The extension opened on August 29, 2016.[9][10]

Future expansion plans

Future plans for the streetcar line include extensions from Union Station to the Dallas Convention Center, and a connection to the McKinney Avenue Trolley via the Main Street District.[1][17] The $92 million project, called the "Central Link", will use one of three alternatives traveling east from Union Station to Olive and St. Paul streets, where the McKinney Avenue Trolley already terminates. It will be built in conjunction with the "D2" light rail project.[21]

Rolling stock
Car 302 in 2016

In February 2013, an order was placed with Brookville Equipment Corporation for two low-floor streetcars to provide the service on the line. The Brookville "Liberty" model articulated cars[22] are 67 feet (20.42 m) long and have limited capability to operate away from overhead trolley lines by operating on battery power.[6][22] This battery-powered operation allows the streetcars to travel across the Houston Street viaduct, which does not have overhead lines installed.[17] The first car (No. 302) was delivered on March 20, 2015,[15] and at the time of the line's opening in mid-April it was the only car in the fleet.[6] The second car, No. 301, was delivered on May 15, 2015.[16] Dallas ordered two more streetcars in July 2015.[23] The third and fourth cars (Nos. 303–304) were delivered in summer 2016.[24]

Streetcar stops

Listed from Downtown Dallas to Oak Cliff

Station Intersection Connections Platform Notes
EBJ Union StationSouth Houston Street and Reunion Boulevard East/Young StreetDART Light Rail:           Red and Blue Lines
     Trinity Railway Express
Amtrak
DART Bus Routes 11, 12, 19, 21, 161, 206, 278		curbside (west)northern terminus
Five minute walk to Union Station building
Serves Reunion District, Reunion Tower
GreenbriarNorth Zang Boulevard and Greenbriar Lanecurbside (west)Serves Oak Cliff Founders Park
OakenwaldZang and Oakenwald Streetislandtwo tracks; single-track north of stop
Serves Lake Cliff Park
BeckleyEast Colorado Boulevard and North Beckley AvenueDART Bus Routes 21, 42, 81, 82, 522islandServes Methodist Dallas Medical Center
6th StreetZang and Sixth StreetislandWalking distance of Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce
Bishop ArtsZang and Davis StreetDART Bus Routes 81, 82, 444, 522, 542curbside (west)southern terminus
Serves Bishop Arts District

See also

References
  1. "Dallas Streetcar". Dallas Area Rapid Transit. 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  2. Tramways & Urban Transit magazine, July 2013, p. 311.
  3. "Ground Breaking for Dallas Streetcar Project". Passenger Transport. American Public Transportation Association. May 17, 2013. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
  4. Appleton, Roy (April 14, 2015). "Downtown-Oak Cliff streetcar debuts with speeches, curious riders". The Dallas Morning News. p. 1B. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  5. Vantuono, William C. (April 15, 2015). "Streetcars return to Dallas". Railway Age website. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  6. "Dallas Streetcar opens". Railway Gazette website. April 14, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  7. "Fact Sheet: Downtown Dallas-Oak Cliff Streetcar" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 3, 2013. Retrieved May 3, 2014.
  8. Benning, Tom (January 10, 2013). "Funding approved to expand Dallas streetcar line, link Bishop Arts and convention center". The Dallas Morning News Transportation Blog. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  9. Formby, Brandon (August 9, 2016). "Bishop Arts District 'officially' gets streetcars Aug. 29 (but you can test the line out two days earlier)". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  10. "Expanded Bishop Arts District Streetcar Service Begins". KTVT. August 29, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  11. "Union Station to Oak Cliff Dallas Streetcar (TIGER Project)". DART. 2012. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  12. Formby, Brandon (January 3, 2016). "DART streetcar, D-Link changes are prelude to expansions". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  13. "News bits: Changes coming in 2016 to Dallas Streetcar, D-Link". Dallas Area Rapid Transit. January 5, 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  14. Tramways & Urban Transit magazine, October 2014, p. 440.
  15. "Brookville delivers first off-wire capable Liberty modern streetcar to DART for Dallas downtown-to-Oak Cliff line" (Press release). Brookville Equipment Corporation. March 25, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  16. "Worldwide Review" (regular news section). Tramways & Urban Transit, July 2015, p. 288.
  17. Appleton, Roy (April 13, 2015). "Dallas' new streetcar begins service between downtown, Oak Cliff". The Dallas Morning News Transportation Blog. Archived from the original on April 19, 2015. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
  18. "April 28, 2015 Board of Directors' Minutes" (PDF). Dallas Area Rapid Transit. April 28, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  19. Formby, Brandon (June 18, 2015). "Dallas City Council OKs extension of streetcar to Bishop Arts". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  20. "Dallas Streetcar schedule starting Monday: extension opens August 29". Mass Transit Magazine. August 10, 2016. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  21. "Dallas CBD Second Light Rail Alignment (D2 Subway) and Dallas Streetcar Central Link" (PDF). DART. June 21, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  22. "Dallas signs Liberty deal". Tramways & Urban Transit, May 2013, p. 166.
  23. "Dallas orders more catenary-free trams". Railway Gazette website. July 20, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  24. "Worldwide Review" (regular news section). Tramways & Urban Transit, October 2016, p. 399.

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