Residents of Plano and Richardson will soon have the opportunity to see the new Silver Line trains in action. Starting Monday, July 22, the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) will begin testing the new rail service.
The testing will cover everything involved in operating the new service, including the vehicles, along the route from Shiloh Road Station to Coit Road, passing the University of Texas at Dallas Station. This process will allow train operators to verify the trains' on-board mechanisms and systems, while project engineers will monitor the track and evaluate the updated safety measures at each rail crossing.
“We’ve been able to get exercise on the TRE tracks, but now it’s time for us to see how the trains operate on their home turf,” said Trey Walker, vice president of capital design and construction. “We want to ensure everything is operating as it should and be able to catch any little thing that can improve safety and performance. The goal is to get to where people can start buying tickets and ride the Silver Line as quickly and safely as possible.”
During testing, the Silver Line trains will run the entire route between the designated test points at various times throughout the day, avoiding weekends and nighttime runs to accommodate incoming freight traffic. Depending on the specific test being conducted, the trains may make brief stops at the stations, but there will be no passenger pickups during this testing phase.
Once in revenue service, the Silver Line will operate under a quiet zone ordinance for much of the segment between Plano and Richardson. In these quiet zones, trains will only sound their horns if there is an obstacle affecting the vehicle's passage on or near the tracks. However, during segmented testing, the trains will use their horns to warn of their approach at all rail crossings.
Segmented testing, which involves evaluating the train and operating systems on specific segments of the track, is scheduled to continue in the fall between the Knoll Trail Station in Dallas and Terminal B Station at DFW Airport. This phase of testing will conclude in early 2025 with Silver Line trains running between the UTD and Knoll Trail stations. End-to-end testing of the entire Silver Line corridor is planned for the summer of 2025.
DART has completed over 65% of the Silver Line project, installing more than 120,120 linear feet of new railroad track along the corridor. Additionally, the four Silver Line stations in Plano and Richardson are each over 75% complete.
To learn more about the Silver Line Regional Rail Project, visit DART.org/silverline.
Don't miss anything Local. Sign up for our free newsletter.
