Red Line (DART)

Red Line
Red Line
	Northbound Red Line train at Galatyn Park Station
Overview
Owner	DART
Locale	Dallas, Texas
Termini	Parker Road (north); Westmoreland (south);
Stations	25
Service
Type	Light rail
System	DART light rail
Operator(s)	DART
History
Opened	June 14, 1996
Technical
Line length	27.7 mi (44.6 km)
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	Overhead catenary
Highest elevation	At grade, elevated, underground
Route map
Route map
	Legend
	Silver Line
	to DFW Airport Terminal B
	Orange Line service peak hours only
	Orange Line normal service
	Blue Line
	to Downtown Rowlett
	Green Line to Buckner
	Green Line to North Carrollton/Frankford
	Orange Line to DFW Airport
	Trinity Railway Express
	to T&P Station
	Dallas Streetcar
	to Bishop Arts
	Blue Line
	to UNT Dallas
	Other service sharing
	tracks with Red Line
	Multiple services sharing
	tracks with Red Line
	All stations are accessible
	This diagram: view; talk; edit;

The Red Line is a light rail line in Dallas, Texas operated by the Dallas Area Rapid Transit system. It began operations in June 1996, and is one of two inaugural light rail lines in the DART light rail system alongside the Blue Line.

Route

Westmoreland to Downtown

The southwestern terminus of the Red Line is at Westmoreland Station in southwest Dallas at the intersection of Illinois Avenue and Westmoreland Road. The southwestern part of the Red Line runs on a private right-of-way with grade crossings. Just before 8th & Corinth, the line merges with the Blue Line. The joint Red and Blue Line tracks then rise on to a viaduct that crosses Cedar Creek, the Trinity River, and a freight railroad line. At Lamar Street, the line turns north at a wye where a pair of tracks leading to one of two train yards on the system diverges. The Red and Blue Lines continue north, crossing the Landry Freeway, travelling under the Dallas Convention Center and stop at Dallas Union Station. After crossing over Main Street, the lines turn east as they merge with the Green Line and Orange Line and enter downtown Dallas. At this point, the lines leave their right of ways and operate on a dedicated street-running right of way.

Downtown to Parker Road

The four DART lines share a common section of track through downtown, with four stops: West End, Akard Street, St. Paul Street and Pearl Street.

After Pearl Street, street running ends and the lines return to private right-of-ways. The four lines diverge at a wye, with the Green Line diverging to the southeast while the Red, Blue and Orange Lines turn north, cross the Good-Latimer Expressway at grade, and descend into a long tunnel under the Central Expressway (US 75), with a stop at Cityplace. The lines exit the tunnel at Mockingbird. The Blue Line diverges from the Red Line and heads east, while the Red and Orange Lines turn north.

The Red Line then travels through north Dallas, Richardson and Plano. Most of the line runs at grade level with grade crossings, although portions of the route run on elevated viaducts. The line terminates at the Parker Road Station at Park Boulevard near Central Expressway in Collin County.

History

Much of the line was constructed on the former Texas Electric Railway route. That service ceased operations in 1948.

The Red Line was part of the initial launch of DART's light rail testing and service in 1996. At the time, the line only ran from Westmoreland Station to Pearl Station in the northeast corner of downtown. In 1997, the Red Line was extended to Park Lane Station, and was the first DART line to use the 3.5-mile twin tunnels. On December 18, 2000, Cityplace Station, the southwest's first commercial subway station was opened along the Red Line underneath Cityplace Tower in the tunnel under the Central Expressway.

In 2002, the Red Line extended into Richardson, ending at Galatyn Park Station, extending the light rail service 9 miles (14.5 km) over its original length. Later that year, the line was opened to the Parker Road Station, an additional 3 miles (4.8 km) of track, its current terminus.

Plans for expansion

The current northern terminus of the Red Line is Parker Road station in Plano. The further north suburb, Allen, is eligible to join DART. However, active Red line service is unable to expand further north because Allen is currently unable to levy the 1% sales tax required for DART membership.^[1]

The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) in a 2022 meeting discussed the possibility of expansion of the Red Line corridor from Plano through Allen to McKinney. Either the Red Line or the Silver Line could be extended north. The study proposed seven stations between the current Parker Road Station and the hypothetical northern terminus Downtown McKinney Station. The extension would be 18 miles long, cost between $700 million and $900 million to construct, and is estimated to have 7,000 to 8,000 riders a day by 2045.^[2]

Stations

Daily Service

Listed from north to south

Station	Other lines	Opened	Notes
Parker Road	(Rush Hour only)	December 9, 2002	Terminus for Red and Orange Lines (Orange Line During peak-hour only)
Downtown Plano
CityLine/Bush			Formerly Bush Turnpike Station until March 14, 2016. Planned Silver Line transfer station
Galatyn Park		July 1, 2002
Arapaho Center
Spring Valley
LBJ/Central			Terminus for Orange Line outside peak hours
Forest Lane
Walnut Hill
Park Lane		January 10, 1997
Lovers Lane
SMU/Mockingbird			Northernmost transfer for the Blue Line
Cityplace/Uptown		December 18, 2000	Transfer to M-Line Trolley
Pearl/Arts District		June 14, 1996	Easternmost transfer for Green Line
St. Paul			Transfer to M-Line Trolley (one block north)
Akard
West End			Westernmost transfer station for the Orange Line and Green Line
EBJ Union Station			Transfer to Dallas Streetcar, Trinity Railway Express, and Amtrak
Convention Center
Cedars
8th & Corinth			Southernmost transfer for the Blue Line
Dallas Zoo
Tyler/Vernon
Hampton
Westmoreland