The Loop – Riding Four Trains Around DFW

Refurbished coach cars have made the TRE good again

Unfortunately not every car has received the treatment

Anyone who’s ridden the TRE in the past is familiar with the aging, cloth seating and general dinginess of the coach car experience. Luckily, TRE has been working to refurbish their cars which has made a huge impact on the experience, despite being a relatively minor upgrade. At the time I rode the TRE not every car had received the updated interior, with my train to Dallas having only older style coaches. Hopefully this change is made to all their coaches soon, as it greatly elevates the experience.

The refurbished interior is nice and features AC and USB plugs

• Dallas Union Station allows Amtrak riders to connect to several other services, including DART light rail and buses, the Dallas Streetcar to Oak Cliff and the TRE train to Fort Worth

An affordable option for long-distance

Amtrak is a long-distance train, unlike the other trains on this list. While it’s definitely useful for that kind of travel, on this occasion I only rode it from Dallas to Fort Worth. At $9 for the lowest fare and with the potential for massive delays, it’s not really a great solution for mid-cities travel. Of course, Amtrak isn’t intended for this kind of journey, since the TRE runs the same line with more stops and less delays.

Notably, however, the TRE does not include a Cafe Car and most certainly doesn’t serve alcohol. If you want to drink on a train and aren’t pressed for time, Amtrak is an option, I guess.

Some coaches now feature updated seating

Having a snack on Amtrak

The Cafe Car on Amtrak isn’t perfect (or cheap) but it’s still nice to have for a quick snack or meal

A great way to travel the mid-cities

The TEXRAIL, built in 2019, is a fairly new addition to the Metroplex. It travels between downtown Fort Worth and DFW Airport, passing through North Richland Hills and Grapevine. Not only is this a nice train, but Grapevine has put a lot of work into making their train station worth visiting, with a combination hotel and food court located right by the station. Called Harvest Hall, it’s absolutely worth a visit with a variety of foods and inexpensive drinks.

The train itself is quiet, comfortable, and truly a vision of what rail travel could be like in DFW. And with DART ordering the same trains (slightly modified) for their Silver Line, it looks like the local presence of Stadler trains will only grow in the future.

TEXRAIL trains are clean and comfortable, with plugs (AC and USB), tables and even tray tables.

• The DART Airport station is very convenient for travelers

Not the nicest, but functional

DART isn’t a nice train, but the high frequency of trains (often one every 20 mins) and scale of the DART network as well as its connections make it a highly usable public transit system. With a simple refresh or even a complete replacement, DART could be a really enjoyable way to travel. And new trains aren’t just a fantasy- Stadler is building FLIRTs (the train that TEXRAIL uses) for DART’s new Silver Line at this very moment. It’s easy to see Stadler building trains for other lines too at some point in the future.

DART trains severely need an update

Built in the 90s, DART trains are starting to show their age

What would Arlington’s commuter rail system look like?

Unfortunately, Arlington has no rail transit system. Our main rail line runs along Division, but this is privately owned and probably isn’t usable for passenger service. For Arlington to gain a rail service, it would take considerable public will and funding, as well as the purchase of private property by the government. This would be a huge obstacle, but luckily there’s an easier solution that I’ll be exploring in a future post: Streetcars.