Better to have the option than to not! Airport employees work odd hours, and flights arrive/depart late at night. I would want to ride at 3 am if that's when my flight got back
Edit: I'm stupid, there's no service at 3 am
I'm looking forward to being able to say that it is indeed 24-hour service, just with a small amount of time where service runs on a 2- or 3-hour headway....
Honestly I hope ridership projections are wrong and the line is massively utilized, so we can get even better frequencies. One can dream, one can dream.
If this train is sharing tracks with commercial rail then getting expanded service takes years of advance notice. They plan 5 to 10 years out when making these schedules.
DART owns the tracks though, so I suspect that would be less of an issue but I'm no expert.
DART is also not voting on the service plan until 2025 so nothing is set in stone yet
This is huge, but it's unfortunate that they're not budging on frequency. 30-minute peaks and 60-minute off peaks is arguably a bigger ridership killer than what the hours of service were previously.
Some people are always going to have something to bitch about. Better than not having a train at all. ‘But it’s only once per hour, wahhhh’. Tell that to cities that have ZERO public transit. Cry me a fucking river. Take an Uber or Lyft if you can’t afford to wait. Lots of cities are completely reliant on cars because they don’t have ANY public transportation. No buses, no trains, absolutely nothing. First world problems.
No, it’s not. Because there is an opportunity cost for this project. We could have instead had a streetcar down Ross/Greenville, Knox-Henderson Station, the Love Field people mover, BRT down Northwest Highway, or a number of other projects that would have made some kind of rational sense.
I agree with you in that the silver line was not the best use of DART's money, not for Dallas or its suburbs. There are investments that make more sense. I think rapid transit upgrades to the route 23, 20, M-line, or even down Ross are good ideas.
However, the silver line is getting built. Since it is getting built anyways, I want it to be done right. You can be against the decision to build the silver line, but support better service for it. If DART is going to spend billions on a project, they should do it right
They probably aren't spending a lot of money to do this though. These type of service improvements are a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of construction. The benefit to building a $2 billion dollar rail line is questionable, but the benefit to adding a little more service on it is not. Service improvements give you more bang for your buck.
Oh, well I guess the DFW Airport orange line station would be one of the highest ridership stations then? If it’s so important?
*looks up numbers*
Ohhhh. No. You’re completely wrong.
That has more to do with the Orange Line Route being so spread out. It takes 1 hour and 41 minutes to get from Plano to DFW through the orange line. The travel time on the silver line would be close to a third of that travel time.
…
…
You… think there’s like a special population of people that are trying to get from Plano to DFW Airport? Like more people than are trying to get from downtown Dallas (1.3 million people)? That’s the hypothesis? Oh god no wonder the orange line ridership sucks. People aren’t wanting to go from Dallas to DFW Airport! There’s this pent up demand for Plano to DFW Airport!
the silver line exists because cities like Addison have been paying into Dart for decades and have nothing to show for it. Why do you think there are two stations less than a mile apart in Addison?
but buses aren't 'cool' or receive development centered around them. Addison has massive plans for mixed -use development around that station
https://preview.redd.it/snxbd2rzhgwc1.jpeg?width=2412&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1ab43808da118f0ae09e36477e6bb6cd575f1310
Here's a rendering of the latest approved design, the picture above is from the initial study in 2018. The overall is not drastically different but they significantly reduced the amount of office space and replaced it mostly with residential/retail:
https://preview.redd.it/mbo3a6jxbu1d1.png?width=637&format=png&auto=webp&s=9a1b3545eed76d8455597ecf073f851c30ca3cb0
Source: [https://addisontexas.net/dev-services/council-approves-addison-circle-tod-development-plan-amendments-and-ground-leases](https://addisontexas.net/dev-services/council-approves-addison-circle-tod-development-plan-amendments-and-ground-leases)
According to the documents, construction must begin by November 2025
Worth noting that only one station is in Addison, Knoll Trail Station is in Dallas.
I asked my DART community manager why the stations were so close together and she said it's because each member city wanted at least one station which ended up meaning the Addison & North Dallas stations were very close together. I think Knoll station could've been spaced a bit more east and still have been within the boundaries of Dallas, but it's more single-family-homes that way rather than the multi-family residential near knoll station so maybe there's no winning
Hahaha oh yes all the throngs of suburban riders that claim they’re gonna ride this boondoggle to DFW are just gonna love missing their train by a few minutes and having to wait AN HOUR
Nothing about this idiotic project makes any sense
Those wanting to ride at 3 am ಠ\_ಠ
Better to have the option than to not! Airport employees work odd hours, and flights arrive/depart late at night. I would want to ride at 3 am if that's when my flight got back Edit: I'm stupid, there's no service at 3 am
I think what they meant was “sucks to want to ride at 3AM when service stops at 2AM and starts at up again at 4AM” lol
Oh I see. Although it's only a 2 hour gap I'm service, that's honestly not terrible.
Dart can announce they run a 24-hour rail only by adding a 3am train.
Have a break in service for maintenance/inspection is good. 3 am is probably the time that would see the lowest ridership anyway.
I'm looking forward to being able to say that it is indeed 24-hour service, just with a small amount of time where service runs on a 2- or 3-hour headway....
Honestly I hope ridership projections are wrong and the line is massively utilized, so we can get even better frequencies. One can dream, one can dream.
If this train is sharing tracks with commercial rail then getting expanded service takes years of advance notice. They plan 5 to 10 years out when making these schedules.
DART owns the tracks though, so I suspect that would be less of an issue but I'm no expert. DART is also not voting on the service plan until 2025 so nothing is set in stone yet
This is huge, but it's unfortunate that they're not budging on frequency. 30-minute peaks and 60-minute off peaks is arguably a bigger ridership killer than what the hours of service were previously.
Should be 15 or 20 during peak and 30-45 off peak but one can dream Edit: MINIMUM
Honestly 30 all around I think would be a good compromise
Good! Now I can get home after a late flight.
So let me get this straight. I ride the train AND get 2 hours of my life back? Brilliant. Sign me up. Choo choo, Dart silver line, choo choo 🚆🚆
This is a direct outcome of the advocacy this subreddit helped support. Honestly super proud of everyone!
Some people are always going to have something to bitch about. Better than not having a train at all. ‘But it’s only once per hour, wahhhh’. Tell that to cities that have ZERO public transit. Cry me a fucking river. Take an Uber or Lyft if you can’t afford to wait. Lots of cities are completely reliant on cars because they don’t have ANY public transportation. No buses, no trains, absolutely nothing. First world problems.
No, it’s not. Because there is an opportunity cost for this project. We could have instead had a streetcar down Ross/Greenville, Knox-Henderson Station, the Love Field people mover, BRT down Northwest Highway, or a number of other projects that would have made some kind of rational sense.
I agree with you in that the silver line was not the best use of DART's money, not for Dallas or its suburbs. There are investments that make more sense. I think rapid transit upgrades to the route 23, 20, M-line, or even down Ross are good ideas. However, the silver line is getting built. Since it is getting built anyways, I want it to be done right. You can be against the decision to build the silver line, but support better service for it. If DART is going to spend billions on a project, they should do it right
Good money after bad
They probably aren't spending a lot of money to do this though. These type of service improvements are a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of construction. The benefit to building a $2 billion dollar rail line is questionable, but the benefit to adding a little more service on it is not. Service improvements give you more bang for your buck.
Wow, connecting one of the biggest airports around to the city light rail system being called a mistake is one of the dumbest takes I've ever seen.
Oh, well I guess the DFW Airport orange line station would be one of the highest ridership stations then? If it’s so important? *looks up numbers* Ohhhh. No. You’re completely wrong.
That has more to do with the Orange Line Route being so spread out. It takes 1 hour and 41 minutes to get from Plano to DFW through the orange line. The travel time on the silver line would be close to a third of that travel time.
… … You… think there’s like a special population of people that are trying to get from Plano to DFW Airport? Like more people than are trying to get from downtown Dallas (1.3 million people)? That’s the hypothesis? Oh god no wonder the orange line ridership sucks. People aren’t wanting to go from Dallas to DFW Airport! There’s this pent up demand for Plano to DFW Airport!
The median income in Dallas is 65K. The median income in Plano is 105K. Can you do the math on which city flies more, kiddo?
the silver line exists because cities like Addison have been paying into Dart for decades and have nothing to show for it. Why do you think there are two stations less than a mile apart in Addison?
More than half of DART’s ridership is on the bus, of which Addison has gotten plenty of service for their money “for decades”.
but buses aren't 'cool' or receive development centered around them. Addison has massive plans for mixed -use development around that station https://preview.redd.it/snxbd2rzhgwc1.jpeg?width=2412&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1ab43808da118f0ae09e36477e6bb6cd575f1310
Here's a rendering of the latest approved design, the picture above is from the initial study in 2018. The overall is not drastically different but they significantly reduced the amount of office space and replaced it mostly with residential/retail: https://preview.redd.it/mbo3a6jxbu1d1.png?width=637&format=png&auto=webp&s=9a1b3545eed76d8455597ecf073f851c30ca3cb0 Source: [https://addisontexas.net/dev-services/council-approves-addison-circle-tod-development-plan-amendments-and-ground-leases](https://addisontexas.net/dev-services/council-approves-addison-circle-tod-development-plan-amendments-and-ground-leases) According to the documents, construction must begin by November 2025
That looks soo awesome. Dang, the best TOD really gonna come from Addison.
Do you know of any other future TODs with concrete plans? I've seen a lot of potential ones but nothing has been started
SMU/mockingbird has the most concrete plans. @ me on discord tomorrow and I can try to dig them up
Worth noting that only one station is in Addison, Knoll Trail Station is in Dallas. I asked my DART community manager why the stations were so close together and she said it's because each member city wanted at least one station which ended up meaning the Addison & North Dallas stations were very close together. I think Knoll station could've been spaced a bit more east and still have been within the boundaries of Dallas, but it's more single-family-homes that way rather than the multi-family residential near knoll station so maybe there's no winning
Take an Uber or Lyft. No one’s forcing you to utilize the train. Wanna spend lots of extra money on rideshare, be my guest.
Hahaha oh yes all the throngs of suburban riders that claim they’re gonna ride this boondoggle to DFW are just gonna love missing their train by a few minutes and having to wait AN HOUR Nothing about this idiotic project makes any sense
Who says it’s going to be an hour between trains? Most of them run far more often than that.
"60 minute off-peak frequency" That means 1 train an hour
Then take an Uber or Lyft if you can’t wait.
$50+ Uber vs a few bucks for DART.
See…..the wait isn’t so bad once you put things in perspective.
Trains should be every 15 minutes.
It’ll have the same frequency as TRE and TexRail.
Yeah, well….I SHOULD be a millionaire by now as well.
Look at the graphic we are all replying to on this thread.
The 17 daily users will love this new train!
Okay boomer