Trinity Railway Express on track for improvements

by Eric E. Garcia, Fort Worth Report
August 14, 2026

A plan to expand Trinity Railway Express capacity is moving forward.

On Friday, city and transportation officials celebrated the start of the second mainline track project for the passenger train that connects downtown Fort Worth and downtown Dallas. The project near the Trinity Lakes Station will add 2 ½ miles of double track between the station and the downtown Fort Worth Central Station.

TRE trains will be able to move faster and more frequently once the work is completed, officials said. The 34-mile system, launched in 1996, has drawn more than 51 million customers from 10 rail stations in Tarrant and Dallas counties. The service is jointly owned and operated by Trinity Metro transit agency and Dallas Area Rapid Transit.

The double-track project was supported by regional and federal funding through partnerships with the Regional Transportation Council, Federal Transit Administration, Trinity Metro, DART, and the cities of Fort Worth and Dallas.

“TRE is a perfect example of how we work together very well and we have been for decades already,” said Anette Landeros, Trinity Metro’s chief strategy officer.

Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker said the partnerships have “everybody moving the same direction to get us to this place.”

“We also need to reinvest and double down on the assets we have on the ground. … This infrastructure is dated but we’re changing that,” she said.

Parker said the city of Fort Worth’s relationship with Trinity Metro improved years ago when two city council members were added to the transit agency’s board of directors. Chris Nettles and Michael Crain now serve on the board.

“We understand our vision as one together,” she said.

Deborah Peoples, council member, said the TRE rail system ensures access to jobs, educational institutions, healthcare facilities and regional transportation.

“This is one step further in making sure that Fort Worth is a city that is accessible to all,” she said.

Gail Lyssy, Region 6 administrator for the Federal Transit Administration, said $15 million in federal funds is being used to improve TRE service as millions of people are expected to move to North Texas in the coming decades.

“It is just what is needed to solve regional transportation challenges,” she said. 

Connectivity is becoming more important as the population grows.

“Commuter rail service needs to grow to help these additional 3 million people that are coming,” Lyssy said.

A person buys a ticket for the Trinity Railway Express at the Trinity Lakes Station on Aug. 14, 2026. (Eric E. Garcia | Fort Worth Report)

Michael Morris, Regional Transportation Council transportation director, said the double-track project also received $11 million from the entity plus other grants and funding that were cobbled together by North Central Texas Council of Governments staff.

He recalled the late Gina Bivens, a former council member who told him, “Don’t give up, stay focused on the outcome.”

When the highway bridge was reconstructed, no columns were in the rail right-of-way, Morris said.

Rich Andreski, president and CEO of Trinity Metro, said the double-track project, when complete, will enable the Trinity Railway Express to go faster — from 45 miles per hour to 79 miles per hour.

“These kinds of investments are a continuation of that vision for seamless mobility,” he said.

Eric E. Garcia is senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org.

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