DART Green Line to debut September 14

The next phase of DART Rail will be the return of rail service to Deep Ellum, Baylor, Fair Park and South Dallas after an absence of more than 50 years and will bring new opportunities for development and offer new destinations to thousands of new passengers when the first four stations of the 20-station, 28-mile Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Green Line open on September 14.

At one point up to four
rail lines connected these communities and those around them with the greater
Dallas area. Now the first three-mile section of the $1.8-billion Green Line
will extend from Pearl Station on the east side of Downtown Dallas to Deep
Ellum Station, Baylor University Medical Center Station, Fair Park Station (at
the intersection of Parry and Exposition) and the MLK, Jr. Station, adjacent to
the J. B. Jackson, Jr. Transit Center on the west side of Fair Park. Daily
service to Victory Station at the American Airlines Center will also begin
September 14.

The remaining 25 miles of
the Green Line, scheduled to open in December 2010, will extend southeast from
Downtown Dallas to Pleasant Grove and northwest from Victory Station to the
Dallas Market Center, the Southwestern Medical District, Love Field Airport and
downtown Farmers Branch and Carrollton.

The Green Line is the
longest light rail project under construction in North America, requiring more
than 2,200 construction workers daily. As of August 2009, more than 8,000,000
man-hours have been invested in the project. To promote safety during
construction, nearly 9,000 workers have participated in DART’s Construction
Safety Education & Security program where workers receive specialized
training in transit construction safety. DART developed the course in English
and Spanish for use throughout the construction of the Green, Orange and Blue
Lines.

In addition to local
funding provided by the one-percent sales tax collected in DART’s 13 member
cities, major funding for the Green Line comes from a $700-million Full Funding
Grant Agreement from the Federal Transit Administration. The FFGA was awarded in
July 2006 at the start of Green Line construction. Construction was bolstered
by the receipt of $78.4 million in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act in mid-2009. The funds are part of DART’s FFGA.

Construction is also under way
on the first nine miles of a new Orange Line that will branch from the Green
Line in northwest Dallas to serve the city of Irving in 2011. The line will be
extended to DFW International Airport by 2013. DART also is building a
five-mile extension of the Blue Line from Garland to Rowlett that will open in
2012. The Orange Line is among the first projects slated to receive funds –
more than $61 million – under the ARRA. Altogether, the Green, Orange and Blue
line projects are expected to add 60,000 weekday passenger trips, nearly doubling
ridership on the DART Rail System.

The Station Art &
Design Program is a signature component of the DART Rail System. From their
debut in 1996, DART Rail stations have each featured their own distinct look
with colors and designs woven into the functional components of the station
that reflect the community surrounding it. The stations themselves become works
of art based on a theme established by neighborhood stakeholders. For example,
Fair Park Station incorporates art deco elements reflecting the large
collection of that style of architecture located there.

In addition, separate art
works are commissioned for the station. On the Green Line, The Traveling Man, a
three-part stainless steel sculpture series, was designed by a team of Deep
Ellum artists to provide a new gateway to the neighborhood. This piece, along
with others created for DART, represents one of the largest public art
collections in the United States. Information on the station designs is
available in the fall 2009 edition of InMotion.

Customers get a chance to
"test ride" the new Green Line during Super Saturday activities at
each of the four new stations on Saturday, September 12 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Special activities are designed to highlight the unique qualities of each
station.