From turmoil, DART takes shape - Dallas Area Rapid Transit - includes related articles

Railway Age, Sept, 1994 by William D. Middleton

The balance of the 67-mile system, which could be complete by 2010, includes lines extending northwest to Farmers Branch and Las Colinas, and southeast to South Dallas/Pleasant Grove, and a short extension of the South Oak Cliff line to Simpson-Stuart Road. Most of these additions will be built in existing railroad fights-of-way already acquired by the agency. DART expects to acquire another 85 vehicles to operate the full 67-mile system.

If the system's success lives up to expectations, rail transit for Dallas is unlikely to end with the currently-planned 67-mile light rail network. Much of the 147-mile system contemplated in DART's expansive 1983 plan remains on maps marked "future expansion." DART has moved to acquire available railroad rights-of-way in potential transit corridors far beyond the limits of its present system plan, and now owns a total of 136 miles of right-of-way that may some day be needed for growth. Just a few months ago, DART began circulating a draft of a new system plan which could add as much as 37 miles to the planned rail system, another 58 miles of freeway HOV lanes, plus additional bus services.

* Strong start for a new director. Roger Snoble's tenure as DART's sixth and newest executive director couldn't have begun on a better note. On his very first day on the job, Jan. 3, 1994, Snoble headed down under the city's North Central Expressway with DART board chair Kathy Ingle and others to celebrate the tunnel boring machine's breakthrough of the second of the system's twin, 3.5-mile light rail tunnels.

With some record-breaking work by the project's tunneling contractor, DART's 20-mile light rail starter system is moving smoothly towards an on-time start-up, and within budget. With that prospect, and with the bitter struggle of the last eleven years over the scope, budget, and schedule for the rail project now pretty much left behind, Snoble just might be in for a calmer term at the head of the agency than the often stormy times experienced by his five predecessors. As DART begins to move from rail construction to operation, and as it begins a major restructuring of its bus operations to feed light rail and better serve the Dallas area's peripheral employment centers, transit professional Snoble brings a welcome background of transit operations experience to the agency.

The DART starter system: vital statistics

Budget: $841 million (with $160 million federal share).

Route: Twenty miles from Park Lane south along the North Central Expressway, through the Dallas CBD, and south across the Trinity River to Oak Cliff, with branches to West and South Oak Cliff.

Stations: Twenty total. One future station at CityPlace. Normal arrangement is side platforms. Six stations have center platforms, which are 310 feet long to accommodate three-car trains. Platform height is eight inches above top of rail. Arched or side canopies at all stations. Eleven stations have bus bays for connecting bus services; nine have park-and-ride lots.

Fare collection: Self-service, proof-of-payment system with ticket vending machines on all platforms. Random inspection to assure compliance. Single ride, unlimited day tripper, five-day tickets, and weekly passes will be available.