TEXRail Opens

Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Testing Of New Commuter Train Horns Also Tests Patience Of Neighbors


https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2018/12/27/testing-new-commuter-rail-horns-neighbors/

The new year will bring a new commuter rail line in Tarrant County, and to residents, it can’t come soon enough. That’s because the trains have had horns blaring all day and all night for weeks. “Last night there was one around 3 something, 1 something, about 4 o’clock in the morning, and it wakes you up,” says Grapevine resident Dan Wendeln. “That’s how loud it is.”

It’s been about two weeks since TEXRail began the testing phase on its new commuter rail line, which extends from downtown Fort Worth to DFW Airport, and in accordance with federal requirements, that means testing the horn at every crossing, every time.

“To put it simply, it’s driving some of us up the wall,” says Wendeln. “And the consistency of it is just, I don’t want to say ridiculous, but it’s hard to have a conversation.”

“It’s very loud, very long, and very intense,” says Fussell.

Trinity Metro says quiet zones will be in place once regular service begins January 5. After that, the horns will sound only in case of emergency. But the safety crossing bells will continue.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Nimbys always want it their way!

"Convienence over Safety!"  is their Credo! :help:
Irving and Grapevine spents lots of money fighting DFW Airport expansion. DFW won, and those with new airplane noise just have to tuff it out, or move. I live near DFW, but in an area that only sometimes have planes coming in for a landing, but not directly overhead. I mostly never notice it, unless it's a day with low clouds when they're using that runway.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You put it where space can be found easily.
emoji52.png
Maybe that's why America's rail infrastructure seems so backward and inefficient compared to most other industrialized democracies.  Seeing sluggish American style light rail curving over, under, and around car traffic makes it clear how much our hands have been tied by giving the owner/investor class top priority over nearly every other consideration.

Nimbys always want it their way! "Convienence over Safety!"  is their Credo!
Being kept up all night long and then having to go into work, only to be woken up again the next night really sucks.  I treasure quiet nights and restful sleep because I'm utterly useless without it.  If you're exhausted then you're a waste of time and money to your employer, and once you lose your job you risk losing everything.  Since we live in a country where the social safety net is being eroded into irrelevance and nearly everything you need is dependent on keeping your job you better believe people are going to be pissed if they can't sleep properly.
 
Yup. American public investment in rail infrastructure is more in line with what is expected of a third world country. Inevitably there is under investment and it shows at every step.

Meanwhile, many third world countries are actually investing at a rate that a lot looks like first world country quality investment.
 
Yup. American public investment in rail infrastructure is more in line with what is expected of a third world country. Inevitably there is under investment and it shows at every step.

Meanwhile, many third world countries are actually investing at a rate that a lot looks like first world country quality investment.
Seems to me that the American [government] method is WAY over investment with extremely low returns.
 
TEXRail will kick off service with free rides


(FORT WORTH, TEXAS) Dec. 4, 2018 – When Trinity Metro’s new 27-mile TEXRail commuter rail line begins service on Jan. 5, 2019, passengers will be able to try out the train for free until Feb. 1, 2019. TEXRail will run from downtown Fort Worth to Dallas Fort Worth International’s Terminal B, providing a daily commuting option for regional employees and travelers.

“TEXRail is a premium service, and we want to give everyone an opportunity to ride,” said Trinity Metro Senior Vice President Bob Baulsir. “From the day we open on Jan. 5 until the end of January, we won’t charge a fare.”

On Feb. 1, customers will pay $2.50 for a one-way ticket. A $5 day pass is good for all rail and bus in Tarrant County. “We are providing first-class service for a nominal price,” Baulsir said. “We expect to have 8,000 riders a day by the end of the first year of service.”

About the route

TEXRail service will begin at the Texas & Pacific Station in Fort Worth and will travel through North Fort Worth, North Richland Hills and Grapevine before its final stop at Terminal B. The first train departs Fort Worth at 3:25 a.m. and arrives at the airport at 4:17 a.m.

https://ridetrinitymetro.org/texrail-will-kick-off-service-with-free-rides/
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Mini, partial government shutdown likely to delay TexRail opening, planned for Saturday:

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Concern-TEXRail-Could-Be-Impacted-By-Shutdown--503828421.html

Meanwhile, ONE BILLION DOLLARS for 27 MILES? That's $37 MILLION per MILE!  That's ridiculous for a non-electrified line on an route where the majority of the ROW already existed.  Just wow.
Without getting into the details that such stories tend to lack, how many equipment sets does that include?  Also, how expensive were the equipment facilities, etc.?  I'm not disagreeing on the cost being high...more looking at the context surrounding it.
 
Rolling stock is 8 4 car Stadler FLIRTs for $106 million.

In addition to track rebuilding and addition of passing sidings and a new track segment into the airport, there are seven new stations most with parking lots of various sizes, and one equipment storage and maintenance facility. Don’t know the cost breakdown for those.

My SWAG is that just the track and signal/PTC is probably a little more than half the total cost, which is still high by world standards. But in general US infrastructure construction costs are high by international standards too.
 
Without getting into the details that such stories tend to lack, how many equipment sets does that include?  Also, how expensive were the equipment facilities, etc.?  I'm not disagreeing on the cost being high...more looking at the context surrounding it.
Didn't the initial (presently operational) phase of Briughtline cost a bit more than 3 billion? And I assume that price tag also included trains, maintenance facilities,  and all the other facilities and collaterals that such an operation requires. For a considerably longer route. Even if arguably the conditions are not fully comparable.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Didn't the initial (presently operational) phase of Briughtline cost a bit more than 3 billion? And I assume that price tag also included trains, maintenance facilities,  and all the other facilities and collaterals that such an operation requires. For a considerably longer route. Even if arguably the conditions are not fully comparable.
 
Early estimates for the entire project Miami to Orlando was $3 Billion. In reality it will be closer to $4 Billion with Phase two coming in at $2.8 Billion or even a bit more, and won’t include the cost of Orlando Airport Mulimodal Center. That is a OIAA project. Brightline just leases space. Only cost of track is included. Phase one was a bit more than $1 Billion as I recall, maybe even as much as 1.5 Billion (haven’t seen the final numbers) though I am not sure what portion, if any, of Miami Central Station buildings is included. It probably includes the ramp and elevated tracks. They have in general run a tighter ship than usual.
 
At DFW right now. As a proper rail fan, I took DART from Rowlett to DFW, transferring at the weather-free Centreport subway station.

In downtown, there appeared to be a priest I couldn't see very well. It had something to do with keeping Dart public. Couldn't find anything relevant in the news.

Arrived at DFW and another rail fan and I walked along the walkway to the West side of the freeway. A lot of construction going on. Sidewalk was closed so couldn't get to the platform. Funny, seeing they were supposed to open four days ago.  The other rail fan was passed because he didn't check the website and came from Plano just to ride it.

So a couple questions answered - yes you will be able to walk from terminal A or B to either Dart or TexRail. There is also zero signage or information on TexRail (not even hiding behind paper). 

Went through Security, hopped on Skylink went to B then returned, capturing this video:

 
I visited the TexRail DFW North station today. Looks like they are ready to receive passengers. It's located off of Texan Trail (Hwy26) at the Dallas Rd. intersection, going east on Dallas Rd., until you reach the "Road Closed" sign, where you turn left to get to the station's parking lot.

TexRailDFWNorth.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Rolling stock is 8 4 car Stadler FLIRTs for $106 million.

In addition to track rebuilding and addition of passing sidings and a new track segment into the airport, there are seven new stations most with parking lots of various sizes, and one equipment storage and maintenance facility. Don’t know the cost breakdown for those.

My SWAG is that just the track and signal/PTC is probably a little more than half the total cost, which is still high by world standards. But in general US infrastructure construction costs are high by international standards too.
$18-20m/mile is high for a commuter rail project, but not insanely so by US terms.  Realistically it should probably be about half of that.

To be fair, the relevant Brightline comparison (Miam-Palm Beach) was, IIRC, around $600m at initial estimate for 70-75 miles of line and five sets of equipment (that was the bond issue).  I think you get a bit over a billion dollars once you throw in MiamiCentral, but let's ignore that due to the odd circumstances there (namely, a five-track elevated station with the tracks several stories up and with a major property entangled with it) that drop it in a class of operation that we haven't seen in the US in nearly a century.  Brightline is relevant because the service frequency (hourly) is in line with what Texrail has now, though IIRC Texrail is supposed to go more frequently once all is said and done.

Still, that's $8m/mile for the base project and equipment (for what I believe is complete double-tracking of the line).  Tri-Rail Coastal Link has been estimated at $800m in 2013 dollars for 85 miles of route, but how that interacts with Brightline's improvements, etc. is an open question.  Taking the projects together, that would be somewhere in the ballpark of $1.3-1.8bn in constant-year dollars, depending on what you include and your year of choice, but that's for something like 40+ round-trips per day between two services, a lot of stations, etc.  Total capex at that point is still in the range of $15-22m/mile (so somewhere around half of Texrail).
 
With a frequent rail connection between DFW and the downtown/northern suburbs of FW, I wonder how many cars will be taken off I-20 and if TRE ridership will be impacted.
 
The only major stop that's served by TEXRail that's replacing TRE service is DFW airport - the other stops seem to be decently far apart, and the only people I could see switching from TRE to TEXRail is those that did a park-and-ride from TRE to Fort Worth where the TEXRail station is more convenient, or those where TRE happened to connect to the bus they needed to get to their destination, but TEXRail serves that connection (or destination) better.

I'm a bit surprised that they're shutting down the TRE connection entirely to the airport; while I'm not sure how long the shuttle bus transfer takes, the fact that the TRE service to the airport station is 23 minutes faster while serving unique intermediate markets would make me think that there'd still be a need for the TRE shuttle bus. It'd be especially frustrating if you work at the airport and were using one of the x:55 times (from Fort Worth Intermodal) to get to the airport. Now, in order to make that same start time, you're needing to leave 25 minutes earlier. For example, if your shift starts at 7 AM, it seems pretty easy to take TRE at 5:55 AM, arrive at CentrePort at 6:19 AM, and then take a shuttle bus to the airport. Even with the transfers, you could easily be at the airport by 7 AM. Now, with just TEXRail serving that, you'll need to take the 5:30 AM TEXRail that arrives at 6:17 AM if you need to be at the airport by 7 AM. Additional frequency could solve this problem, but it's not there on launch, and the bus connection appears to be set for removal pretty much right away after TEXRail launches.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The only major stop that's served by TEXRail that's replacing TRE service is DFW airport - the other stops seem to be decently far apart, and the only people I could see switching from TRE to TEXRail is those that did a park-and-ride from TRE to Fort Worth where the TEXRail station is more convenient, or those where TRE happened to connect to the bus they needed to get to their destination, but TEXRail serves that connection (or destination) better.
I'm a bit surprised that they're shutting down the TRE connection entirely to the airport; while I'm not sure how long the shuttle bus transfer takes, the fact that the TRE service to the airport station is 23 minutes faster while serving unique intermediate markets would make me think that there'd still be a need for the TRE shuttle bus. It'd be especially frustrating if you work at the airport and were using one of the x:55 times (from Fort Worth Intermodal) to get to the airport. Now, in order to make that same start time, you're needing to leave 25 minutes earlier. For example, if your shift starts at 7 AM, it seems pretty easy to take TRE at 5:55 AM, arrive at CentrePort at 6:19 AM, and then take a shuttle bus to the airport. Even with the transfers, you could easily be at the airport by 7 AM. Now, with just TEXRail serving that, you'll need to take the 5:30 AM TEXRail that arrives at 6:17 AM if you need to be at the airport by 7 AM. Additional frequency could solve this problem, but it's not there on launch, and the bus connection appears to be set for removal pretty much right away after TEXRail launches.
They are going to launch half hourly frequencies in March is the plan. That shuttle had incredibly low ridership, so either employers weren't using it, or a majority are from Dallas where they take the Orange line in. I suspect the former.
 
Back
Top