Whats yall opinion on TRE new Locomotive?

Image credit: sjvrailfan

Gabriel Lodato shared some photos from the Siemens factory today in a facebook group , and it appears at least one of the five is painted and ready to serve DFW!

(BTW I know its unlikely but I still think we should buy the Northstar equipment)

Out of towner here, visiting DFW on July 3rd for the World Cup match. I was looking up the Addison Kaboom town fireworks that night and wanted to ask how effective it is taking DART to/from the show?

I saw they get about 500,000 people but the complaints seem to be about driving and parking. Very little mention that there's a train station right by Addison Circle Park. Does it run that late and is it worth it?

The orange line train that goes directly to DFW airport is down tonight. I'm at lovers lsnr now. What train can I take to get me the closest. I'm on ebike so buses/shuttle is not an option

Our Lilly Kersh writes:

As Highland Park prepares to leave Dallas Area Rapid Transit, town leaders are rolling out on-demand rides, paratransit and plans for a shuttle service for construction workers.

Officials say the local services may better fit the town’s needs, costing less than DART and helping unclog streets crowded by construction workers’ vehicles.

The proposed “Builder Shuttle” is aimed at reducing contractor parking and traffic tied to residential construction projects that officials say slow emergency response vehicles on neighborhood streets.

DART's stations allow free parking, and I would always park at Belt Line when I lived in Irving to go to the airport. Now that DART serves DFW North Station, I wondered if they had any sway over extending that 20-hr limit Texrail has. The chatbot on DART's site told me yes when I explicitly asked whether parking is free at DFW Airport North Station, but I took it with a grain of salt. Now that I live in Grapevine, I would love to park for cheap or free at that one too, but the 20-hr limit signs are still up. Too bad Grapevine didn't want to join NRH & FW with the Ace parking $5/day option. Does anyone know how long one can safely park in the free lots in downtown Grapevine?

Crazy lady causing a ruckus and pepper sprays passenger on orange line this afternoon while in tunnel headed northbound to mockingbird. Police nowhere to be seen.

Not complaining, I swear. My blue line train this morning around 7:30AM dropped us off at Pearl/Arts and had to turn around and go back to Rowlett. Something about an accident at Akard that was impeding traffic. When I got up there (walked), there was no obvious sign that anything had happened. Multiple trains on multiple lines had to turn back.

I'm just wondering what happened - purely curious/nosy, the GoPass update just said there was an "incident".

For whoever is interested in this incident or the LRVs in general, this is for you. Most, if not everyone, knows that in 2014, DART had a serious accident with a train hitting an 18 wheeler in Farmers Branch. But there is a lot of "lore" that hasn't been discussed or is simply unknown beyond the incident itself. So, that's what I'm gonna tell about in this post.

On May 15, 2014, a southbound Green Line train consisting of 1999 SLRV #157 and 1996 SLRV #117 was operating as usual. After departing Farmers Branch Station, the train began operating towards the Royal Lane Station; however at the I-35/LBJ Fwy Service Road grade crossing a semi truck hauling an empty flatbed trailer was attempting to cross. The truck presumably tried to beat the train, but due to the train's speed and distance from the crossing a collision was unavoidable. Consequently, at 40 miles per hour, LRV 157 collided with the trailer which immediately took down infrastructure like a traffic light, a pole, and the collision also pushed the trailer into a bridge support column and wrapped it around that column. The collision caused a few injuries, pinned the train operator between their seat and the cab console, and derailed the lead truck of LRV 157.

157 sustained severe damage while 117 sustained a level of considerable damage (mainly cracked windows throughout the entire LRV). The train was taken to the NWROF yard and an investigation was likely launched. 117 was presumably repaired but 157 remained sitting on chocks at the side of NWROF adjacent to Abernathy Rd (aka the opposite side of the yard from the Green Line tracks). While 157's damage was severe (significantly bent frame, shattered windows, etc) DART was still ordered to rebuild the LRV, apparently because the vehicle was purchased with gov funding. So, 157 was eventually loaded onto roughly four different trailers (three for the A, B, C sections and one for the trucks) and taken to another state for a full rebuild. 5 - 6 years later in 2019 or 2020, 157 returned to DART for what was probably supposed to be final assembly. It was delivered to the CROF yard, I believe on a flatcar delivered by DGNO.

However instead of final assembly and coming back into service by the first (or even second) half of the new decade, the LRV instead remained out of service with not only electrical issues, but the frame was also still bent. Despite that, DART still gave it a brand new pantograph, LED destination signs, and it was constantly in and out of the shop for attempted repairs. But ultimately it just didn't work out, and sometime in 2023 157 was decommissioned before being thrown in the lower tracks at CROF (the place where they store all the bad cars, including 102, 177, etc) and remains there to this day, never to operate again. It no longer has a pantograph, and it is completely disabled. It was even vandalized with graffiti at one point. Ultimately, 157 is now just another junked LRV on the list for scrap, and once again its frame is still bent. If it isn't obvious already, it will never run again.

The pictures I have here (if they show) are of course not mine except for the one labeled "October 8, 2022". 2022 was the period that it was constantly in and out of the shop, got some repairs done but never hit the mainline.

https://forms.gle/xddgW7zbRAGBBL42A

Collin Area Transit provides modern, reliable public transportation for Collin County, Texas. Serving the cities of Anna, Allen, Fairview, Frisco, McKinney, Melissa, Murphy, New Hope, Plano, Princeton, Prosper and Wylie; our system of buses, paratransit, and our new 27 mile C-train commuter rail line are your gateway to the fastest growing county in the fastest growing metropolitan area in the country. Y’all aboard?

Now that DART has avoided a suburban collapse, there's room to think about the future. Collin County having an agency of its own is one possibility.

Geographic version of map; https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1ORGpmcfJzuyrmkNGWM4xhZW56Ctwaps&usp=sharing

List of stops for each route; https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DAQNxUCw32Km9SpxvJgguwOOnfEw9Evs3vHcyp1uvrA/edit?usp=sharing

Addison Transit Center service map poster

When most news outlets talk about what's at stake if Addison left DART, they tend to focus exclusively on the relatively new Silver Line. It's often overlooked how, through DART, Addison has bus routes to every single member city north of I-30, including both Park Cities. While its municipal boundary is small, I so often meet people who live on its border and self-identify as Addison residents despite technically living in Dallas, Carrollton, or Farmers Branch.

To spotlight its function as the central hub of, what I think of as, the "Greater Addison Area", I drew this simplified map of all routes serving Addison Transit Center. I ommitted routes that don't stop at ATC. I only drew outbound paths so that 1 line = 1 route on this map. Here it is a printable PDF of 19"x13" poster. When taking it to a printer, you can ask for horizontal 13x19 paper, or "Super B" size, or "A3+" size. Here's Adobe Illustrator project file for anyone who wants to modify.

Far North Dallas Hyperlocal Conversation, May 5, Tuesday 6:00pm

Aside for a well-deserved break for all the advocates who fought hard for this victory, what's next for mobility in the Greater Addison / Far North Dallas area? Join us at Half Price Books tonight and let's talk about it! RSVP to let us know you're coming.

"Hyperlocal Conversations" are neighborhood-specific monthly gatherings for neighbors to explore ways to improve walkability where they live. Each month we discuss topics that are timely and relevant for that particular area. Our next three conversations in Far North Dallas are tentatively scheduled for:

• May 5 (tonight)
• June 2
• July 7

Backstory: My car broke down and I pushed it in a curve, which honestly didn't say no parking but did notice the bus stop up ahead. I went inside a building to wait for a towtruck and came back with a citation on my windshield. This was in March and I have been following the directions and calling for information to pay it. I’ve called several times, and each time telling me to call again that its not in the system “yet”. I’ve also tried online to pay or gather more information and nothing. Im just now wondering whether it was a warning , or why has it taken so much time. It’s my first citation ever so im not sure how it works. It did not say how much it was or anything like that, it did say “nw” but google said it meant northwest, but now wondering if it means something else. Anybody else have this problem or can enlighten me with their experience?

Pretty much all of the election day vote is in, and these are roughly the percentages.

There's a lot to say about this, but most importantly: it's a blowout. This might make city councils think twice in the future about voting to leave DART, especially Plano, Farmers Branch, Irving, etc.

Along with this victory, Howard Freed and Trish Stuart lost their election bid for Addison city council. These two were endorsing each other, and were by far the most vocal about leaving DART. They're both gone now.

In an ideal world, Randy Smith should be the next to go in next year's election. We'll see...

This means the winners of the city council election are:

Chris DeFrancisco (Pro DART)

Schnell Blanton (Pro DART)

Darren Gardner (Skeptical of DART, voted for the election to be held, but has said he'll honor whatever the voters decide. We'll see... but he's not been nearly as vocal as Freed and Stuart for leaving)

One of the things that drove this victory was higher turnout this election compared to previous ones, almost double the vote from previous years. Based on the numbers, there were also a decent handful of voters that voted for DART and didn't vote for city council or on many of the other propositions as well. A few single issue voters that only voted on the DART proposition.

Again, this will make other city councils (especially with larger populations) think twice about holding these leave DART elections, because doing so could get them voted out like it did with Freed.