Dallas Streetcar
The Dallas Streetcar is a 2.45-mile (3.94 km) modern streetcar line in Dallas, Texas.[1] It is owned by the city of Dallas and operated by Dallas Area Rapid Transit, which also operates Dallas's DART Light Rail system. Construction on the line began in May 2013,[2][3] and it opened for public service on April 13, 2015.[4][5][6]
The streetcar line operates between downtown Dallas and Oak Cliff by way of the Houston Street Viaduct.[7] The streetcar line originally operated from Union Station to Methodist Dallas Medical Center, but an extension to the Bishop Arts District[1][7][8] opened on August 29, 2016.[9][10]
The Dallas Streetcar project is a collaborative endeavor among DART, the City of Dallas, and the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG).[4][7][11] The project received $23 million in initial funding via a federal TIGER grant awarded to DART in December 2010.[8] An additional $3 million in federal stimulus dollars was later granted to the project.[4] DART reallocated $22 million in local funds to the streetcar project which were originally scheduled for a proposed people-mover between Inwood/Love Field station and the Love Field airport terminal.[8] In January 2013, NCTCOG approved reallocating $31 million in state funds, which were also earmarked for the proposed Love Field people-mover, to the streetcar project.[8] The combined funding would allow for construction of both the first and second phases of the streetcar project.[8]
Phase 1 of the Dallas Streetcar line, running from Union Station to Methodist Dallas Medical Center (the line's "Beckley" stop), opened on April 13, 2015.[4] Service runs at 20-minute intervals on weekdays,[1][7] with no cost to ride.[1] In February 2016, streetcar operating hours will be expanded to between 9:30am and midnight weeknights, and will offer weekend service.[12][13]
Construction on Phase 1 began in May 2013.[2][3] By September 2014, most track construction for Phase 1 had been completed.[14] The first of the two streetcars on order from Brookville was delivered on March 20, 2015.[15] At the time of the phase 1 opening on April 13, 2015, the second streetcar vehicle had yet to be delivered.[6] It was delivered on May 15, 2015.[16]
Phase 2 of the Dallas Streetcar line runs south from the line's original southern terminus at Methodist Dallas Medical Center (Beckley stop), to the Bishop Arts District in Oak Cliff.[1][17] On April 28, 2015, the DART board of directors approved a construction contract for the Bishop Arts extension.[18] On June 17, 2015, the Dallas City Council agreed to fund Phase 2 construction using up to $27.5 million in available grant money.[19]
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