NEW DMUs FOR A TEXAS TRANSIT LINE Take the A-Train BY MICHAEL T. BURKHART/PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR
TEXAS IS EXPERIENCING A BOOM IN LIGHT and commuter rail construction. The Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) sys- tem continues to grow from its initial line in 1996, with the most recent ex- tensions on its Orange and Blue lines opening in late 2012. A few years ago, a third section was added to many of DART’s articulated light rail cars in in- crease
capacity. In Austin, Capital
MetroRail opened its 32-mile “Red Line” in 2010 with plans for further ex- tensions. Houston’s METRORail is also expanding rapidly, with several new sections under construction. North of Dallas, the Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) was formed in 2001. It planned to build a 21-mile, five station commuter line along an old Missouri-Kansas-Texas branch paralleling the busy and grow- ing
I-35E corridor. The DCTA “A-
Train” would serve as a link with DART’s new Green Line extension con- necting Carrollton with Dallas.
40 DECEMBER 2012 •
RAILFAN.COM
TOP: The newest transit operation in Texas is DCTA’s A-Train. Stadler DMU No. 109 is north- bound during the morning rush at the Old Town station in Lewisville, Texas, on Oct. 1, 2012. ABOVE: DCTA No. 103 is southbound at Lewisville, Texas, on Oct. 1, 2012.
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