TEXRail is a
hybrid rail
Hybrid rail, also known as diesel light rail transit (DLRT), is a mode of Passenger train, passenger rail service unique to North America that uses lightweight Multiple unit, multiple unit trains—typically Diesel multiple unit, diesel multiple u ...
(
light rail
Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...
with some features similar to
commuter rail
Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...
) service in
Tarrant County, Texas that provides service between downtown
Fort Worth
Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...
and
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport is the primary international airport serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and the North Texas region, in the U.S. state of Texas.
It is the largest hub for American Airlines, which is headquartere ...
, with intermediate stations in
North Richland Hills and
Grapevine
''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 81 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus consists of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, bot ...
. It is operated by
Trinity Metro (formerly Fort Worth Transportation Authority). The line was opened for preview service on December 31, 2018 and started revenue service on January 10, 2019.
In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday.
The new line is worth $1 billion. It is considered a segment of the Cotton Belt Rail Line project, alongside the
DART-operated
Silver Line (currently under construction) to the east.
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. Planned TEXRail stations led to agreements with Grapevine and North Richland Hills in 2006 and 2016, respectively, that allowed stations to be built within those cities. The route also passes through
Haltom City,
Hurst, and
Colleyville, but these cities have not joined or signed interlocal agreements, preventing Trinity Metro from building stations in them.
History
Grapevine
''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 81 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus consists of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, bot ...
citizens voted 8,058 to 2,898 on November 7, 2006 to levy a 1-cent sales tax, of which ¢ would authorize Grapevine to contract with Trinity Metro for rail service and another ¢ for other transit improvements, like a downtown parking garage. 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 Central station. 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, 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.
Following this legislative defeat, Trinity Metro began pursuing federal grant funds in order to build TEXRail.
On March 5, 2014, it was announced that the TEXRail project would receive $50 million in federal grant funds from
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
's 2015 New Starts Funding Budget.
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.
On June 9, 2015, Trinity Metro ordered an initial eight 4-car articulated
Stadler FLIRT
Stadler FLIRT (, ) is a passenger multiple unit trainset made by Stadler Rail of Switzerland. The baseline design of FLIRT is an electric multiple unit Articulated car, articulated trainset that can come in units of two to twelve cars with two t ...
s DMUs.
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 was 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
Section 165 () of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 (commonly called the Buy America Act) is a section of the larger STAA that deals with purchases related to rail or road transportation.
Unlike the similarly titled Buy Ameri ...
. 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.
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. 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. DFW Airport also said they would provide the $40 million to build the station at Terminal B, with an opening date in late 2018.
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.
On January 4, 2019, less than 12 hours before service was scheduled to commence, the opening was suspended due to signal issues identified during an inspection by Federal Railroad Administration officials along the southern end of the line in Downtown Fort Worth.
The new opening took place on January 10, 2019.
Future expansion
Scott Mahaffey, Trinity Metro board chairman, has expressed interest in extending the line south and adding two stations to serve the medical district and
Texas Christian University at an estimated additional cost of $200 million. This extension could be completed by 2025, when all additional planned and proposed stations are added the line will be an additional 14 miles longer. City Councilman Jungus Jordan has said that he would like to see the line go even farther south to serve
Tarleton State University's new campus near the Chisholm Trail Parkway.
In 2020, $38.9 million was granted by the U.S. Department of Transportation-Federal Transit Administration to extend the line to the medical district. Under the proposed expansion plan, construction would start in spring 2024 with completion by the fall of 2026, total cost is projected to be $167 million.
Operations
Travel time from T&P Station to DFW International Airport is estimated to be approximately 55 minutes.
There are 73 trips per day, with 30 minute headways between start of service at 3:20am to 9:00am for morning rush, 2:30pm to 7:00pm for afternoon rush, with 1-hour headways outside of the rush hour time periods; all 100 series trains listed on the Trinity Metro TEXRail schedule do not complete full journeys from FTW to DFW or vice versa.
The line is predominantly single tracked, with passing sidings installed to allow for 30-minute headways.
Stations
Stations were opened on December 31, 2018:
Rolling stock

Trinity Metro provides TEXRail service using eight
Stadler FLIRT
Stadler FLIRT (, ) is a passenger multiple unit trainset made by Stadler Rail of Switzerland. The baseline design of FLIRT is an electric multiple unit Articulated car, articulated trainset that can come in units of two to twelve cars with two t ...
self-propelled
diesel multiple units (DMU), TEXRail 101-108, capable of seating 229 passengers and carrying up to 488 passengers.
In TEXRail application, the diesel power module contains two (1400 hp Total) Deutz AG TCD 16.0 V8 engines that comply with US EPA Tier 4 emission standard, able to achieve a top speed of , however mainline track speed is limited to 70 mph. These units at long weigh in at empty ( full load).
The contract to purchase eight trainsets, valued at about $100 million, was awarded to Stadler in June 2015.
The first set was delivered in October 2017, and four more sets had arrived by November 2018. Equipment testing and crew training started in March 2018.
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
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard, developed by USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), for digital data transmission and power delivery between many types of electronics. It specifies the architecture, in particular the physical ...
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.
In 2019, before its delivery to Fort Worth, Stadler used the eighth and final TEXRail vehicle in a ceremony commemorating the 150th anniversary of the
golden spike
The golden spike (also known as the last spike) is the ceremonial 17.6-Carat (purity), karat gold final Rail spike, spike driven by Leland Stanford to join the rails of the first transcontinental railroad across the United States connecting t ...
, which marked the completion of the
first transcontinental railroad
America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the "Overland Route (Union Pacific Railroad), Overland Route") was a continuous railroad line built between 1863 and 1869 that connected the exis ...
. The vehicle used in the ceremony was nicknamed "Spike", which was emblazoned on the vehicle's front. In 2024, Trinity Metro held a contest to name the other seven TEXRail trains. New train names are:
Four additional FLIRT trainsets were ordered from Stadler in late 2024. Delivery is expected in 2027.
References
External links
*
{{USCommRail
Passenger rail transportation in Texas
Rail transportation in Fort Worth, Texas
Railway lines opened in 2019
Commuter rail in the United States
2019 establishments in Texas