Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) will modernize its system to better address the region’s travel needs and demands. The DART Transform program will prioritize enhancing the customer experience with updated vehicles, better passenger facilities and increased resilience for uninterrupted service. The changes will cost around $2 billion over the next 10 years.
The Dallas area has been growing rapidly, adding more than 400,000 new residents over the past five years. DART is anticipating continual growth in the immediate future, placing greater demands on the existing transit network. To address future development, DART will prioritize modernizing five core elements of the system:
- Vehicles.
- Stations and passenger facilities.
- Resiliency.
- A unified signaling system.
- Operating facilities.
Plans are already underway to revitalize the transit network, starting with efforts to replace the oldest light-rail vehicles (LRVs) and improve the bus network with better amenities, state-of-the-art technologies and enhanced safety features. The 95 new LRVs are expected to include better communication systems, cameras, ADA-compliant spaces, display monitors and seating. Additionally, the authority anticipates procuring more than 470 buses will run on clean fuel and include better information displays, mirror cameras, bike racks and an operator barrier shield.
Stations and passenger facilities will also be revamped, incorporating customer feedback to enhance the network’s appeal and efficiency. Notably, 23 platforms along the transit lines will be raised to improve ADA accessibility and boarding. Additional changes will include escalators, inclinators, updated aesthetic designs, advanced ticketing machines and new bus shelters.
DART will implement resilience measures to ensure the transit system can operate routinely through extreme weather events. The agency will prioritize protecting the train’s overhead wire power supply system by installing ice shrouds for the winter cold and refined automatic tensioners for the summer heat.
The Red and Blue Lines will receive modernized unified rail signaling technologies to completely update its existing legacy system. These efforts will ensure all lines operate on the same signaling system, making it easier for LRVs to communicate and enhance operation efficiency. DART also plans to install signal house back-up power systems with improved resilience measures designed to handle lightning strikes.
The agency will ensure that all operating facilities are prepared to handle the proposed transit system improvements. Plans include transforming the existing rail facilities to accommodate the dimensions and specifications needed to maintain and operate the new fleet of LRVs. In addition, DART will update bus facilities with more efficient tools and spaces to accommodate the bus fleet.
