Trinity Railway Express

Trinity Railway Express

Company type	Joint venture
Industry	Commuter rail
Founded	December 30, 1996 (1996-12-30)
Headquarters	Dallas and Fort Worth , United States
Area served	Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Texas, United States
Products	Commuter rail service
Owner	Dallas Area Rapid Transit (50%), Trinity Metro (50%)
Parent	Herzog Transit Services (operations)
Website	www.trinityrailwayexpress.org

The Trinity Railway Express (TRE) serves as a commuter rail line within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Texas. This service emerged from a collaboration between Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and Trinity Metro, each holding an equal 50% ownership share. Operations are managed by Herzog Transit Services, with the line commencing operations in December 1996.

In , the TRE achieved an annual ridership of , averaging approximately weekday passengers as of . This places it as the seventeenth most frequented commuter rail network across the United States.

Initially depicted as a green route on DART’s transit maps, the TRE was occasionally referred to as the "Green Line" until 2006. That year, DART reassigned the green color to a new light rail corridor, leading to TRE’s rebranding as a dark blue line.

History

Taking its name from the Trinity River, the TRE began service on December 30, 1996, shortly following the launch of Dallas’ DART light rail. The original segment connected Dallas Union Transit Station with South Irving Transit Station, operating along a former Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad track acquired by Dallas and Fort Worth in 1983 for $34 million.

Service was initially limited to weekday rush hours but expanded to include midday and evening runs by December 1997, with Saturday operations introduced in December 1998. On September 18, 2000, the line extended service to Richland Hills, establishing rail connectivity between downtown Dallas and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. The West Irving Transit Station opened in November 2000, and by December 2001, TRE reached its present terminus at T&P Station in downtown Fort Worth. On February 17, 2024, Richland Hills station ceased operations and was succeeded by the newly inaugurated Trinity Lakes station on February 19.

Route

The TRE line originates at Dallas Union Station located on the western side of downtown Dallas and heads northwest alongside Interstate 35E. It passes prominent locations including the American Airlines Center and Dallas Market Center, then crosses over the Elm Fork of the Trinity River into Irving’s historic downtown district. Continuing westward toward the Dallas County/Tarrant County boundary, it passes beneath the President George Bush Turnpike.

Upon entering Tarrant County roughly four miles south of Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, the route spans over SH-360 and skirts northern Arlington before veering northwest toward Bell. It traces along Hurst’s southern edge and then turns southwest near Interstate 820, passing through Richland Hills and Haltom City. Approaching downtown Fort Worth from the northeast, it passes under Interstate 35W before curving toward Fort Worth Central Station, concluding at T&P Station.

Current timetables indicate that a one-way journey requires about 1 hour and 2 minutes.

Service

TRE operates six days weekly from 4 AM (starting at 5 AM on Saturdays) until midnight (extending to 1 AM on Fridays), with trains running hourly or every thirty minutes during weekday peak times (4–9 AM and 2–7 PM). There is no service on Sundays except during the State Fair of Texas, when trains run according to a Saturday schedule.

The TRE maintenance yard is situated in Irving between West Irving and CentrePort/DFW Airport. During peak hours, some train trips begin or end at these stations.

TRE Link

The TRE Link shuttle bus, managed by Trinity Metro, provides service to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport by connecting CentrePort/DFW station with Terminal B at intervals of 20 to 40 minutes during TRE operating hours. Terminal B also offers a pedestrian connection to TEXRail.

Rolling Stock

Model	Image	Category	Maximum Speed		Quantity	Year(s) Built
mph	km/h
EMD F40PH		Diesel Locomotive	110	177	2	1981–1985
EMD F59PH		Diesel Locomotive	110	177	7	1988–1994 (Refurbished 2010)
EMD F59PHI		Diesel Locomotive	110	177	2	2001
Bombardier BiLevel Coach		Coach Car / Cab Car	95	150	25	1976–2009 (various production years)

Diesel locomotives

TRE operates a fleet of eleven locomotives consisting of:

• Seven EMD F59PH IV units originally from GO Transit, refurbished in 2010 to comply with EPA regulations and renumbered 120 through 126.
• Two brand-new EMD F59PHI locomotives acquired in 2001, numbered 569 and 570.
• Two former Amtrak EMD F40PH locomotives obtained in late 2021, delivered at the start of 2022, assigned numbers 130 and 131.
• A Siemens Charger locomotive order announced in 2024, with anticipated delivery in 2026 to replace aging equipment.

The previous roster included thirteen Budd RDC-1 diesel multiple units manufactured between 1954 and 1958.

Coaches

TRE's bi-level cab and coach cars were produced by Bombardier Transportation and Hawker Siddeley: - Units 1000-1001 built in 1983 (now renumbered as coaches 1048-1049) - Units 1002-1003 built in 2003 - Units 1004-1009 built in 2007

Former fleet

Up until 2011, TRE utilized thirteen Budd Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs) constructed during the 1950s for Canadian Pacific, Canadian National, and Boston & Maine. These RDCs were acquired secondhand from Via Rail Canada in 1993 and underwent refurbishment by GEC-Alsthom in Montreal, entering service in early 1997. Initially, these RDCs operated all TRE services for two to three years following the line’s launch in 1996, during which leased trains from Amtrak and the Connecticut Department of Transportation temporarily ran the service. The RDCs remained active for approximately fourteen years before retirement in March 2011.

Between 2010 and 2011, eleven RDCs were leased to the Denton County Transportation Authority for use on its A-train, after which they returned to storage at TRE’s Irving facility. In spring 2017, twelve RDCs were auctioned to AllEarth Rail, a Vermont-based company intending to establish commuter rail between Montpelier and Burlington. Subsequently, AllEarth sold two RDCs to TriMet in Portland, Oregon; these units were relocated in August 2017 for deployment on TriMet’s WES Commuter Rail. The remaining ten RDCs were transported to Vermont during the same month. The final RDC was donated to the Museum of the American Railroad in 2023.

Train consist

Typical train sets consist of at least one locomotive paired with a bi-level cab car, frequently accompanied by one or two intermediate coach cars. Each cab car is equipped with restroom facilities and allows full passenger movement throughout the train. Travel time from Union Station to T&P Station generally ranges between 63 and 71 minutes, slightly exceeding one hour. Ongoing track improvements focused on double-tracking critical segments aim to reduce delays caused by single-track sections that require trains to wait at designated passing points, thereby enhancing overall travel speed.

Stations

Stations located within the West fare zone adhere to the local fare structure of Trinity Metro, whereas those in the East zone follow DART pricing. Passengers traveling across these zones must purchase a regional fare from one of the two agencies.

Fare zone	Station	Parking	Municipality	Points of interest and major connections
West (Tarrant County)	T&P Station		Fort Worth	Template:Rint Trinity Metro:
	Fort Worth Central Station			Provides access to Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth Water Gardens, and Sundance Square Template:Rint Trinity Metro: Template:Rint Amtrak:
	Template:Stn			Site of the planned Trinity Lakes mixed-use transit-oriented development
	Bell		Hurst	Serves the Bell Textron manufacturing facility
West/East	CentrePort/DFW Airport		Fort Worth	Provides shuttle connection to Template:Rint Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport via the Template:Rint TRE Link service
East (Dallas County)	West Irving		Irving
	Downtown Irving/Heritage Crossing
	Medical/Market Center		Dallas	Access to prominent medical facilities and Dallas Market Center
	Victory			Close to American Airlines Center Template:Rint DART light rail:
	Union Station			Nearby attractions include Reunion Tower and Dealey Plaza Template:Rint DART light rail: Template:Rint Amtrak: Template:Ric