Orange Line (Dallas Area Rapid Transit)

The Orange Line (labeled as the Purple Line on maps prior to 2006) is a 37-mile-long (60 km) light rail line operated by the Dallas Area Rapid Transit system in Dallas, Irving, Richardson and Plano, Texas.

  Orange Line
Overview
TypeLight rail
SystemDART Light Rail
TerminiParker Road (north)
DFW Airport (west)
Stations29
Operation
OpenedDecember 6, 2010
OwnerDART
Operator(s)DART
Technical
Line length14.0 mi (22.5 km)
Track length37 miles
Track gauge4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Construction of the Irving Convention Center near the Irving Convention Center Station
DART Orange Line
 DFW Airport
TEXRail
to T&P Station
 Belt Line
Pres. George Bush Turnpike
 North Lake College
Hidden Ridge (planned)
SH 114
 Irving Convention Center
Las Colinas
Urban Center
South Las Colinas (planned)
 University of Dallas
Loop 12
Loop 12 (planned)
Trinity River
I-35E
Spur 482
Green Line
to North Carrollton/Frankford
 Bachman
Burbank
West Mockingbird Lane
 Inwood/Love Field
Southwestern Medical
District/Parkland
Market Center
Trinity Railway Express
to T&P Station
Dallas North Tollway
 Victory
Trinity Railway Express
to Union Station
Blue Line to Ledbetter
Red Line to Westmoreland
 West End
Akard
 St. Paul
Pearl/Arts District
Green Line
to Buckner
 Cityplace/Uptown
Knox–Henderson
(unfinished; abandoned)
 Mockingbird
Blue Line
to Downtown Rowlett
 Lovers Lane
 Park Lane
Walnut Hill
White Rock Creek
 Forest Lane
LBJ/Central
I-635
 Spring Valley
Arapaho Center
Galatyn Park
Silver Line
to DFW Airport
(2022)
 CityLine/Bush
Pres. George Bush Turnpike
12th Street (planned)
 Downtown Plano
 Parker Road
All stations have step-free access

Route
A Parker Road-bound Orange Train near Market Center

The line's current northwestern terminus is DFW Airport Station, located inside Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.[1] The line proceeds southeast through Irving, providing service to the Irving Convention Center, Las Colinas, and the University of Dallas, before merging with the Green Line north of Bachman Station. The Orange Line shares the rest of its route with existing light rail lines, with stops along the Green Line from Bachman to Victory Station, through downtown Dallas on a corridor shared with the Green Line, Blue Line, and Red Line, and then northward along the Red Line corridor into Richardson and Plano.

Planned future Orange Line stations include Hidden Ridge Station between Irving Convention Center Station and North Lake College station,[2] a DFW North Station loop,[3] and an eastern extension down Scyene Road to Masters Drive (previously planned as a Green Line expansion).[4]

History

Planning and construction

The Orange Line was planned as an extension to the DART Light Rail system at least as early as 2006, when DART's 2030 System Plan described a "Northwest Corridor" route with expected revenue service to both Love Field and DFW Airport by 2013.[4]

On March 12, 2007, the City of Dallas officials and DART made an agreement to make Love Field Station a surface-level facility, concluding a long debate over whether or not to make it an underground station closer to the airport.[5][6]

On December 5, 2007, the Dallas Morning News ran a story reporting that DART President Gary Thomas said a previous cost estimate of $988 million was too low. THe new cost estimate for the 14-mile project was $1.8 – $1.9 billion, he said.[7] The $900 million overrun in costs caused considerable outrage among political leaders[8] in Irving, Texas, the city the line runs through on its way to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. The Irving leaders conducted an inquiry into the cost overruns.[9] Texas State Representative Linda Harper Brown sent an official letter to Mr. Thomas also inquiring about the project's cost overruns.[10]

In February 2010 DART officials warned that the first two phases of the Orange Line might be delayed due to TXDOT problems along State Highway 114, which the Orange Line route follows. Utility relocation and road construction was expected to delay access to portions of the construction area where the rail line and highway intersect. DART estimated that the delay could push the opening of the Las Colinas extension from December 2011 to August 2012; however, DART also advised that it was determined to keep the original schedule and minimize any delays.[11][2]

In June 2010, DART placed new Orange Line construction on indefinite hold due to declining revenue. However, on September 15, 2010, the agency said that due to cost savings and federal funds, the plans for the line have been revived.[12]

On December 13, 2011, DART awarded a contract to design and build the Orange Line extension from Belt Line Road to DFW Airport, valued at about $150 million, with construction to start in early 2012 and an opening date of August 18, 2014, ahead of schedule.[13]

Opening and operation

The Orange Line started operation on December 6, 2010, with weekday peak service from the Parker Road station to Bachman station on stations shared with DART's Red and Green lines. The first Orange Line-exclusive stations opened with the extension to Irving Convention Center on July 30, 2012,[14] and two more were added on December 3, 2012.[15] The current northwestern terminus, located at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, opened on August 18, 2014.[1] Hidden Ridge Station, which was planned with the rest of the Orange Line but deferred until further development justified its construction, will begin construction in summer 2019 and is expected to open to revenue service in May 2020.[16]

Stations

Daily service
Listed from Northeast to Northwest. Peak-hour only service is highlighted
Station Other lines Opened Notes
Parker Road      2002 Terminus for Red (full-time) and Orange Lines (peak-hour)
Downtown Plano      2002
CityLine/Bush      2002 Formerly Bush Turnpike Station until March 14, 2016. Planned Silver Line transfer station
Galatyn Park      2002
Arapaho Center      2002
Spring Valley      2002
LBJ/Central      2002 Terminus for Orange Line outside peak hours
Forest Lane      2002
Walnut Hill      2002
Park Lane      1997 (extended 2002)
Lovers Lane      1997
Mockingbird           1997 Northernmost transfer for Blue Line
Cityplace/Uptown           2000 Transfer to M-Line Trolley
Pearl/Arts District                1996 Easternmost transfer for Green Line
St. Paul                1996 Transfer to M-Line Trolley (one block north)
Akard                1996
West End                1996 Westernmost transfer station for Red and Blue Lines
Victory      2004 Transfer to Trinity Railway Express
Market Center      2010
Southwestern Medical District/Parkland      2010
Inwood/Love Center      2010
Burbank      2010
Bachman      2010 Westernmost transfer for Green Line
University of Dallas 2012
Las Colinas Urban Center 2012 Transfer to Las Colinas APT
Irving Convention Center 2012
North Lake College 2012
Belt Line 2012
DFW Airport      2014 Terminus; transfer to TEXRail at adjacent DFW Airport/Terminal B station

Special event service
Listed from East to West

Future/deferred
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References
  1. "DART DFW Airport Station". Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  2. "DART.org – DART News Release". www.dart.org.
  3. http://www.dart.org/about/expansion/orangelinedfwnewsletter1.pdf
  4. "DART.org – DART Transit System Plan". www.dart.org.
  5. The Dallas Morning News – February 9, 2007.
  6. "Rail will not tunnel under Love Field." Retrieved March 12, 2007
  7. "A new cost estimate".
  8. "outrage amongst political leaders".
  9. "inquiry".
  10. "an official letter" (PDF).
  11. ""Irving light-rail segments may be delayed." The Dallas Morning News. February 24, 2010".
  12. "DART finance committee OKs service changes, new debt in $1.26 billion budget". September 15, 2010. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  13. "DART awards design-build contract for DFW Airport connection". Progressive Railroading. December 15, 2011. Archived from the original on December 16, 2011. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
  14. Brandon Formby (July 30, 2012). "Irving's Orange Line ushers in new era in North Texas mass transit | | Dallas Morning News". Transportationblog.dallasnews.com. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  15. "Big day for DART as routes are extended to Rowlett, D/FW Airport | Dallas Morning News". Dallasnews.com. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  16. "DART.org - DART News Release". www.dart.org. Retrieved May 19, 2019.

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