Basically, I'm a geek when it comes to trains and planes. Put me at a rail station or an air field and I can zone in happiness all day long. Put me in an area where rail and planes mix and I am in geek heaven. Like the friendly Welcome! at Walgreen's, I got my Welcome! with a view of the new TEXrail cars built by Stadler of Switzerland. It is Stadler's first American order for a model outside the GTW product line. The cars are being built in Salt Lake City under the Buy American Agreement.
The 27-mile commuter rail owned by "the T" in Ft. Worth, will service Tarrant County and Terminal B at DFW. DART, the Dallas light rail, has been arriving at Terminal A for three years already. Unlike light rail, the Stadler cars are DMU's or Diesel Multiple Units and will be WI-FI ready when they begin service sometime in November, 2018. They are standard guage at 4 feet 8 and one-half inches or 1435 mm metric. They also have crash bumpers for better safety in event they are in a crash.
The video presentation on the TEXrail site explains how the two muni-operated systems will interchange with each other allowing passengers from Ft. Worth to ride the DART light rail to downtown Dallas. With so much international traffic at DFW and more to come, the customers are used to having rail service to the central business districts. With DFW being a joint venture between the two cities already, the separate rail systems bring a unity of rail transport to the Metroplex. The Cotton Belt that DART will bring by 2022 will connect the northern sections of Dallas and Tarrant Counties from Plano to Ft. Worth. Least we forget the TRE that runs from the T&P in Ft. Worth to Dallas' Union Station many times a day and the A-Train from Frankfort Station on DARTS Green line to Denton, is also part of that same unified rail commuter system.
The rail road is very much a part of history in this part of Texas. It is only natural to have a lot of support for the railroads. With the future construction of the Bullet Train from Houston to Dallas/Ft. Worth growing closer and closer, the further transportation of riders on a modern rail system coupled with a wold-class international airport, brings even more reasons to live in this great part of the US as yet another link is under construction. These cars are part of that link known as the TEXrail.Welcome,Aboard!!
 |
| DMU's |
 |
| Service November,2018 |
 |
| New Platforms at Grapevine Station for TEXrail. The Vintage Railroad Train in Grapevine, is also running special trips for the holidays |
