TEX Rail (Fort Worth - DFW Airport Commuter Rail)

Official web-site: http://www.texrail.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/02/25" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... ccess.html

DALLAS -- A long-delayed proposal to establish a TEX Rail commuter line from southwest Fort Worth to Grapevine could again be held up if right-of-way agreements aren't soon reached with three railroads along the route, the nation's top transit official said.

...

The Fort Worth Transportation Authority is pushing to open TEX Rail by 2016, but construction is expected to cost about $750 million. The commuter rail line would connect the Texas Christian University area, Fort Worth's medical district and downtown to the Stockyards and the north end of Dallas/Fort Worth Airport.

...

DART owns the longest stretch -- 20 miles, from the Fort Worth Stockyards to the north end of DFW Airport...Fort Worth & Western controls about nine miles from near Interstate 30 and Forest Park Boulevard to the south...Omaha, Neb.-based Union Pacific owns two pieces of track along the TEX Rail line -- one extending about a mile from T&P Station west to the Fort Worth & Western line and another extending about three miles from north of downtown to the Stockyards.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/02/25" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... rylink=cpy

http://www.masstransitmag.com/news/1072 ... north-side

Apparently not their first issue with station site location.

The T is working to build TEX Rail, a 37-mile commuter rail line from southwest Fort Worth to Grapevine and the north end of Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. The agency has applied for $415 million in federal funding for the $758 million project, but to qualify for the money the T must determine, once and for all, its station locations and complete preliminary engineering by early next year.

The original choice for a site in north Fort Worth is not working out, and the agency is seeking a new one. A neighborhood station may not be ready by the scheduled opening of the rail line in 2016 -- and the TEX Rail trains may pass through Diamond Hill without stopping.

"It's probably a future station. It's probably not going to be open in 2016," said Curvie Hawkins, the T's planning director.

To bring residents up to speed on the quest for a north Fort Worth station site, T officials plan to meet with residents June 13 at the Diamond Hill Community Center.

FWTA looking at buying 18 DMUs (Stadler GTWs?) soon for 2016 delivery.
http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/12/10 ... ority.html

Might be further news released about the PPP partnership later this week or month.
They are also looking at helping establishing a new manufacturing plant in the DFW area to build these DMUs.

FWTA has changed the preferred site of two TexRail stations.
Medical District to Mistletoe Street, and Northside from 23rd Street to 28th Street.
Therefore they are waiting the appropriate waiting period before releasing the Final EIS.
http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/11/24 ... k=misearch

Another note on the preference for DMU's: Progressive Railroading

Fort Worth transportation agency prefers diesel multiple units for TEX Rail

Yesterday, the Fort Worth Transportation Authority's (The T) board approved a change in the type of TEX Rail vehicle that will be included in the agency's New Starts federal funding submittal form.

The vehicle in The T's New Starts submittal in 2011 specified a TRE-type locomotive-hauled coach (LHC); the proposed change specifies a diesel multiple unit (DMU), The T officials said in a prepared statement.

The agency previously planned to launch service with TRE vehicles due to their significantly lower purchase price and less lead time to procure in order to meet the 2016 schedule, with a long-range plan to move to DMUs in the future, they said.

A recent cost analysis found that the additional costs for the DMUs will be more than offset by lower operating costs, however. The DMUs are estimated to cost $88 million — about $25 million more than the TRE-type LHC. But the operating expense for DMUs is projected to be $4 million less per year than LHC operating costs.

FWTA buys 8 diesel powered Stadler FLIRTs.
http://www.star-telegram.com/news/traff ... 13976.html
The $106.7 million order with Switzerland-based Stadler Bussnang AG is enough to pay for eight rail cars and enough parts to cover 10 years of maintenance.
Mahaffey and several other T officials took part in a signing ceremony Tuesday at the Intermodal Transportation Center in downtown Fort Worth. Joining him at the ceremony was Peter Spuhler, Stadler owner and chief executive.
Spuhler said Stadler was considering opening a manufacturing plant in Lewisville, adjacent to the Denton County Transportation Authority’s maintenance yard, to build the TEX Rail cars. The Denton agency also uses Stadler rail cars, but a different model.
He said a handful of other possible locations for a manufacturing site, including one in Utah, were still under consideration. A final decision on where to build the Stadler cars should be made during the summer. Wherever the manufacturing plant is built, it likely will create 80 to 100 jobs, another Stadler official said.
The T is on track to get a full-funding grant agreement from the federal government by early 2016, possibly sooner, said Bob Baulsir, the T’s vice president of TEX Rail and procurement.
Also, the T plans to install new railroad tracks and concrete ties along most of the 27-mile TEX Rail track, and that work is scheduled to begin next year, Baulsir said.
The T has $25 million on hand to place the order for the cars and has access to state and federal grant funds as well as millions of dollars in its fund balance to cover costs if full federal funding is delayed. The T can also issue debt if necessary, Baulsir said.
The TEX Rail cars will be the first Stadler FLIRT models to operate on diesel fuel, Spuhler said. Stadler FLIRTs in places in Europe are electrified, he said.

Dusting this off for funding news: Star-Telegram

TEX Rail secures $499 million federal grant for Fort Worth-DFW trains

TEX Rail is moving forward with plans to launch its commuter train service from downtown Fort Worth to Dallas/Fort Worth Airport by late 2018 after gaining a commitment for a half-billion dollars in federal money.

Officials announced Thursday that the U.S. government signed off on a long-awaited document known as a full-funding grant agreement with the the Fort Worth Transportation Authority for the proposed passenger rail line. It ensures that $499.39 million in federal grant money — roughly half the estimated $1.034 billion cost of building the 27-mile line — will be spent on the project.
...
Flowers congratulated officials from Fort Worth, Grapevine and North Richland Hills for aggressively pursuing the project despite pockets of opposition from neighboring communities such as Colleyville, where many residents continue to oppose the rail route.

The trains are expected to operate about every half-hour during peak periods — 44 trains per day — and carry about 9,000 daily passengers by the end of its first year, and 14,000 by 2035.
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Once TEX Rail is up and running, it will essentially double the amount of commuter rail service available in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. A similar service, the Trinity Railway Express, opened in 1996 and now connects the downtowns of Fort Worth and Dallas, with the route roughly following the Trinity River through Northeast Tarrant County and west and south Irving.

Official web-site: http://www.texrail.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Let's hope they finish the construction on time and below budget.

I'll be riding this train, or the Grapevine Vintage Railroad, frequently.

Almost forgot the map. Source: TEX Rail

This project is on Trump's list of priority projects.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politic ... 164.html#0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Cotton Belt is, Tex Rail is not. Although Tex Rail already has a full funding agreement with the FTA.
The Cotton Belt project starts at DFW but then turns east towards north Dallas - the opposite direction than Tex Rail.

Oops. Thank you.

TEXRail: its home page
TEX Rail project connecting Fort Worth to DFW set for 2018 | WFAA.com
Has some video.

The line will be 27 miles long, and it will go between downtown Fort Worth and DFW Terminal B. Its downtown FW stations will be shared with TRE. Its vehicles will be Diesel Multiple Units (DMU's).

It's expected to open around December 2018, and to have 8,000 riders per day.

Ricco Swuave has posted 10 YouTube videos of TexRail construction progress. Here's the home link to his channel.
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCY1_8981D5Q9RyxNBUGJV3g" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Enjoy!

Another youtube video of TexRail FLIRT trains testing in Colleyville.
https://youtu.be/5i-pb-AsmNw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
This section of track where the testing occurred was completely rebuilt by TexRail (FWTA) within the ex-Cotton Belt line now owned by DART. It will be sharing these tracks with the FWWR and GVRR.