By BJ Austin, KERA News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-926643.mp3
Dallas, TX – DART's 20 year plan approved last night, includes rail service to DFW Airport, something DART put on hold last summer because of money problems. KERA's BJ Austin says planners are banking on better times - and in the meantime, tweaking the system and fares.
DART's Morgan Lyons says completing the Orange Line airport connection through Irving a year later than planned, in 2014, depends on a couple of things.
Lyons: That assumes that we're going to continue to see some growth in sales taxes. We also need to secure some additional funding.
In the meantime, fares for the Trinity Railway Express go up Friday. The round trip between Dallas and Fort Worth will cost ten dollars, not seven. And next week, some TRE schedules will be cut back to better integrate with light rail on the Dallas side. In December, DART opens the Green Line to Carrollton-Farmers Branch and Pleasant Grove. It's then that trains systemwide will run every 15 minutes during peak hours, not every ten.