Trinity Railway Express morning commuters may have to adjust their schedules if proposed large-scale systemwide service reductions are approved next month.
The Dallas Area Rapid Transit board will consider those service and fair changes at its Aug. 26 meeting. DART jointly owns the popular TRE rail service with Fort Worth’s Trinity Metro transit agency.
“The proposed changes are being initiated by DART,” Trinity Metro spokesperson Laura Hanna said. “TRE is jointly owned and operated by Trinity Metro and DART, so any adjustments would need to be approved by their board, and then would need to be presented to our board for approval.”
Under a proposal for 2026, the commuter train between downtown Fort Worth and downtown Dallas would eliminate its schedule every 30 minutes on weekday mornings and move to an hourly schedule. DART held several public input meetings in Dallas County during June.
Eastbound trains currently run between the two downtown areas every 30 minutes between 4:31-9:31 a.m. and then operate every hour until 11:31 p.m. TRE trains stop at just Tarrant County stations between 11:58 p.m. and 2:01 a.m.
Westbound trains originating from Eddie Bernice Johnson Union Station in downtown Dallas would also be affected. That service currently operates every 30 minutes between 5:15-10:15 a.m. before also moving to an hourly schedule for the rest of the weekday.
Other changes proposed include:
- Replacing the TRE One-Way Pass with a three-hour Regional Pass for $6 or a Reduced Regional three-hour pass for $3.
- Adjusting the Regional Day Pass to $9 and the Reduced Regional Day Pass to $4.50.
- Establishing a Regional Reduced Monthly Pass for $96.
- Eliminating the Regional Annual Pass.
DART’s new $2 billion Silver Line from Plano to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport is proposed to begin operation within the next several months with an hourly frequency. That train will connect with Trinity Metro’s TEXRail line at the DFW Airport North Station.
The proposed changes are driven by DART’s newly approved General Mobility Program for the next fiscal year that will shift about $42.59 million back to seven member cities that were concerned they didn’t receive enough services for the amount of sales tax revenue they contributed. Those cities are Addison, Carrollton, Farmers Branch, Highland Park, Richardson, Plano and University Park.
“DART’s board adopted this program in response to concerns raised by some member cities regarding sales tax equity,” agency officials said in a news release. “While this effort aims to address those concerns, it also creates significant funding constraints, requiring DART to consider the largest systemwide service reduction in its history. These proposed changes, along with inflationary pressures, increased city service requests, and the early launch of the Silver Line, will require public transit adjustments across the entire network.”
Bills proposed during the recent regular legislative session would have reduced contributions from DART member cities by 25% — and would have prompted the end of the TRE service, officials said. Those efforts failed.
The commuter train was launched in 1996 and now has an annual ridership of about 1.1 million. The train operates Mondays through Saturdays. There is no service on Sundays or some holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.
The TRE service reductions won’t impact Trinity Metro’s TEXRail trains, which is a separate system.
Eric E. Garcia is a senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org.
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