Trinity Railway Express

I went to Dallas last week with my girlfriend. We rode on DART light rail (Red Line) and TRE (Trinity Railway Express) commuter train.

We rode from Dallas Union Station to Ft. Worth Intermodal Transportation Center (ITC) Station, and back. One way, we rode on Bombardier passenger coach. The seat is more comfortable than in LA Metrolink. On the way back, we rode on Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs), which I think it is Colorado Railcar. It's a noisy ride due to two engines under the cars. However, the seats is very plushy and comfortable.

On return trip, we had to go to sideline for about 15 minutes while waiting for other commuter train passed by on single line. I noticed that they are working to add double line on part of the journey between Dallas and Ft. Worth.

Dallas Union Station is not a good station, but it is unusual. The waiting and lobby rooms are located about 300 feet away from tracks. To reach the tracks from lobby room, you'll have to go to one side of building, go underground to the tracks, and climb up the stairs to platforms. There is elevators. Right now, most of the building are under renovation.

At Ft. Worth ITC, it is a major transportation center for the city buses, Amtrak, and commuter line. I saw a short train of Amtrak. I think it is for Heartland Flyer. There are two locomotives- one on each end, along with at least 3 cars.

Actually, Budd built the RDC's, many years ago. The Colorado Railcar makes a DMU (Crappy I've heard), that was on a tour last year (I think), I don't know of any commuter agencies ordering those, or at least using them.

North CArolina DOT is reportedly considering using the DMU for its start up commuter service it wants to run in the Charlotte area. I personally think the Bombardier/UTDC bi-level coaches are great. The only problem I have with Tri-Rail down here is that Herzog (the company that operates Tri-Rail for FDOT) sucks, and the interior needs some updating. Now those are just the cars we have down here, I know Bombardier has since updated the interior of the cars since Tri-Rail bought there most recent sets in 1996. The main thing that's great about the Bombardier coaches is that the train has no fixed prime mover, it can operate with any passenger locomotive, and also it offers cab cars. The cab car is key because it allows the trainset to be turned around quickly, without having to run a wye so that the locomotive cab is facing the right direction. Now the cab car is still not as safe as a locomotive because it doesn't have nearly as much weight as a locomotive, but most crews know if they are about to hit something, they need to make like a bread truck and haul buns.