DALLAS — Dallas Area Rapid Transit is nearing completion of the new Silver Line and preparing to open the 26-mile regional rail project between the end of the year and early 2026.
The new Silver Line is approximately 85% complete and, once in operation, will connect passengers from East Plano to DFW Airport’s Terminal B. The project spans three counties and seven cities — Addison, Carrollton, Coppell, Dallas, Grapevine, Plano, and Richardson — and adds 10 new transit stations to the existing DART network.
Because the project covered such a large area, DART and its design-build contractor, Archer Western Herzog (AWH), divided the Silver Line into three segments during construction. Segment C, which runs between Plano and Richardson, was primarily completed in late 2024, allowing DART to begin testing vehicles in the area late last year.
Vehicle test runs are set to begin by the end of January in Segment A, which runs from DFW Airport to Carrollton. This will allow DART to test the trains, track, signals and crossings to ensure a safe and reliable ride and get engineers comfortable with the new trip routes.
Specific testing times have not been set, but DART is working to coordinate with cities and school districts to ensure the public knows trains operating on the lines more frequently.
Testing will continue later this year and connect Carrollton and Addison to Segment B, which includes the North Dallas area. This segment required some of the most extensive construction, including the closure of Hillcrest Road in February 2024. Once major construction is completed in each segment, end-to-end testing of the entire Silver Line track is scheduled to begin this summer.
In October, DART celebrated the groundbreaking of its new Equipment Maintenance Facility, and work on the 40,000-square-foot facility in Plano’s technology corridor is progressing steadily. The facility is being constructed a few hundred feet from the Silver Line’s new Shiloh Road Station, directly behind a 20,000-square-foot office building that DART purchased to house the Silver Line’s administrative and operations team.
Carrollton will also see big changes in the first part of 2025. DART is constructing a new elevator tower to provide passengers with a seamless connection between the new Silver Line station and the Green Line’s aerial platform at the Downtown Carrollton Station. Officials said the weather recently delayed the installation of the tower, but DART plans to complete it as soon as possible.
Denton County Transit Authority announced plans to extend its service to Downtown Carrollton, enhancing access for Denton County riders to the city’s vibrant area and the forthcoming Silver Line. Once in place, Silver Line passengers will have transit access to Downtown Denton via DCTA’s A-train in Carrollton and Downtown Fort Worth via Trinity Metro’s TEXRail at the DFW Airport North Station in Grapevine.
The CityLine development in Richardson will also change once the Silver Line is complete. The bridge, which crosses over US-75 and spans almost a mile, leads the Silver Line to the development’s new station. The station will be given a unique and vibrant look with aesthetic arches, which DART anticipates adding in 2026.
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