Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) marked a key milestone on Oct. 24, 2024, with a groundbreaking ceremony for its new Silver Line Equipment Maintenance Facility.
The new facility is being constructed behind a 20,000-square-foot office building DART bought earlier this year at 3201 Technology Drive in Plano’s industrial area. This building will become the operations and maintenance center for Silver Line staff once the rail service begins.
“We are grateful to our partners at the city of Plano for sharing the vision of bringing this facility to Plano, allowing DART to continue investing our agency’s assets into our member cities and growing transit opportunities across the DART service area,” DART President and CEO Nadine Lee said in an official statement. “The Silver Line is a major piece to solving the mobility puzzle in North Texas by providing a strong east-to-west connection between Plano and DFW Airport.”
Located within DART’s 14-acre rail right-of-way, near the end of the Silver Line track and a few hundred feet from Shiloh Road Station, construction will have minimal impact on local traffic and surroundings. The facility will include two buildings for housing, cleaning and maintaining Silver Line vehicles, an underground fueling tank, a canopy for fueling and a storage yard for all vehicles.
By collaborating with Plano officials to establish a full maintenance facility, DART saved over $30 million in capital costs and nearly $1 million in yearly operating expenses compared to a proposed shared facility off the Silver Line route. Being close to an existing station also reduces empty trips to start daily operations and allows DART personnel to respond more quickly to any track or vehicle issues once the Silver Line is operational.
When completed, the Silver Line Equipment Maintenance Facility will be the fourth regional rail facility in North Texas and the only one in Collin County, joining facilities in Irving, Lewisville and Fort Worth. DART expects the 40,000-square-foot complex to accommodate 65 existing and new permanent employees, with additional space for future expansion.
Residents and commuters have become familiar with the Silver Line trains over recent months. DART has been running simulated test routes between Shiloh Road Station in Plano and the University of Texas at Dallas Station in Richardson since the summer. Testing along other parts of the 26-mile line, stretching from Plano to DFW Airport, will continue until the service launches in late 2025 or early 2026.
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