DALLAS — Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) is nearing completion of the new Silver Line and preparing to open the 26-mile regional rail project to passengers for revenue service between the end of the year and early 2026.
According to DART officials, the new Silver Line is about 85% complete with construction and, once in operation, will connect passengers from East Plano to DFW Airport’s Terminal B. The project crosses seven cities—Addison, Carrollton, Coppell, Dallas, Grapevine, Plano, and Richardson—across three counties and is adding 10 new transit stations to the existing DART network, a news release stated.
Vehicle Testing Coming to New Areas
With the project covering such a large area, DART and its design-build contractor, Archer Western Herzog (AWH), separated the Silver Line into three segments during construction. Segment C, which runs between Plano and Richardson, was primarily completed in late 2024, allowing DART to begin testing vehicles in the area in late 2024.
“Vehicle test runs are set to begin by the end of January in Segment A, which runs from DFW Airport to Carrollton, allowing DART to test the trains, track, signals and crossings to ensure a safe a reliable ride while also getting engineers comfortable with the new trip routes,” the release stated. “Specific testing times have not been set, but DART is working to coordinate with cities and school districts to ensure the public is aware of trains operating on the lines with more frequency.”
Testing will continue later this year is supposed to connect Carrollton and Addison to Segment B, which includes the North Dallas area. This segment reportedly required some of the most extensive construction and the closure of Hillcrest Road in February 2024. End-to-end testing of the entire Silver Line track is scheduled to begin this summer once major construction is completed in each segment.
Construction Milestones coming for Carrollton, Plano, Richardson
DART also celebrated the groundbreaking of its new Equipment Maintenance Facility in October and work on the 40,000-square-foot facility in Plano’s technology corridor is progressing steadily. The facility is being constructed a few hundred feet from the Silver Line’s new Shiloh Road Station directly behind a 20,000 square-foot office building that DART purchased to serve as the home to Silver Line’s administrative and operations team.
Carrollton will also see changes earlier this year, with DART constructing a new elevator tower to provide passengers a seamless connection between the new Silver Line station and the Green Line’s aerial platform at the Downtown Carrollton Station. Weather recently delayed the installation of the tower, but DART plans to follow through on that construction as soon as possible, officials said.
Denton County Transit Authority announced plans to extend its service to Downtown Carrollton in the future. Once in place, Silver Line passengers will have transit access to Downtown Denton via DCTA’s A-train in Carrollton and Downtown Fort Worth via Trinity Metro’s TEXRail at the DFW Airport North Station in Grapevine.
The CityLine development in Richardson will also see changes once the Silver Line is complete.
“The bridge, which crosses over US-75 and spans almost a mile in length, leads the Silver Line into the development’s new station will be getting aesthetic arches to give it a unique and vibrant look. DART anticipates adding the arches to the bridge in 2026,” the release stated.
For more information about the Silver Line visit www.DART.org/silverline.
Source: Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART)
