Silver Line (Dallas Area Rapid Transit)
The Silver Line, also known as the Cotton Belt Rail Line, is an under construction 26-mile (42 km) hybrid rail (light rail with some features similar to commuter rail) line traversing Collin, Dallas, and Tarrant Counties in the U.S. state of Texas operated by Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART). The line will provide service from Dallas's northeast suburbs of Plano, Richardson, and Addison to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Terminal B.
| Silver Line | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Overview | |||
| Other name(s) | Cotton Belt Rail Line | ||
| Status | Under construction | ||
| Owner | DART | ||
| Locale | Collin County, Dallas County, and Tarrant County Texas, USA | ||
| Termini | |||
| Stations | 10 | ||
| Website | DART Cotton Belt Rail Line | ||
| Service | |||
| Type | Hybrid rail | ||
| System | Dallas Area Rapid Transit | ||
| Services | 1 | ||
| Depot(s) | Trinity Railway Express Maintenance Facility | ||
| Rolling stock | 8 Stadler FLIRT | ||
| Daily ridership | 7,000 (estimated) | ||
| History | |||
| Planned opening | 2025 | ||
| Technical | |||
| Line length | 26 mi (41.84 km) | ||
| Track length | 67.7 mi (108.95 km) | ||
| Number of tracks | 2 | ||
| Character | commuter rail on shared freight line | ||
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge | ||
| Operating speed | 79 mph (130 km/h) (top) ~26 mph (40 km/h) (average) | ||
| |||
According to DART, the Silver Line is "designed to provide a high-speed, reliable transit option for residents and commuters with connections to the existing and planned transit systems" and aims to improve transit travel times by providing an alternative to congested roadway networks.
The working name for the project, the Cotton Belt Rail Line, comes from a former subsidiary of the Southern Pacific Railroad, the St. Louis Southwestern Railway, commonly known as the Cotton Belt, which previously owned the line. DART purchased the right-of-way in 1990 for future transit use.