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DART's Red Line And Blue Line Will Soon Be Able To Hold More Riders

Stephanie Kuo
/
KERA News
A test run on the DART Blue Line

Longer trains will soon be cruising down two DART lines. It was announced that the Federal Transit Administration will put $61 million into expanding capacity on the Red and Blue lines.

They'll be able to hold a third more riders.

The project is pretty straightforward: expand platforms at 28 different DART stations, so three-car trains, instead of two-car trains, can run there.

DART's Director of External Relations, Gordon Shattles, says during the workday commute, cars on the Red Line and Blue Line, are full.

"At peak times we try to keep right at about 165 people for the max carrying capacity on each one of our cars," he said. "And I'll tell you as anyone who's had an opportunity to ride them knows, it's standing room only, especially during peak."

The Red Line runs from southwestern Dallas up to Plano. The Blue Line runs from South Dallas to Rowlett.

DART actually broke ground on the project three weeks ago. The total price tag is just under $129 million. The Texas Department of Transportation is kicking in $60 million and DART is contributing $8 million of its own funds. Construction should be complete by the end of 2021.

Courtney Collins has been working as a broadcast journalist since graduating from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in 2004. Before coming to KERA in 2011, Courtney worked as a reporter for NPR member station WAMU in Washington D.C. While there she covered daily news and reported for the station’s weekly news magazine, Metro Connection.