About

The DART 2030 Transit System Plan (TSP), approved in October 2006, identified the Cotton Belt Corridor as a priority project. In 2016, DART advanced implementation of the Cotton Belt to the year 2022 in its FY2017 Twenty-Year Financial Plan. The DART 2040 Transit System Plan, which is under development, will reflect this change to the project schedule. The proposed project would be financed through a new federal loan program called Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF). The project assumes a phased approach to implementation that would initially include mostly single-track operations.

The 26-mile Cotton Belt Corridor extends between DFW Airport and Shiloh Road in Plano (see map below). The alignment traverses seven cities: Grapevine, Coppell, Dallas, Carrollton, Addison, Richardson and Plano. The Cotton Belt Project’s primary purpose is to provide passenger rail connections and service that will improve mobility, accessibility and system linkages to major employment, population and activity centers in the northern part of the DART Service Area. The Cotton Belt Project would interface with three DART LRT lines: The Red Line in Richardson/Plano, the Green Line in Carrollton and the Orange Line at DFW Airport. Also at DFW Airport the project would connect to Fort Worth Transit Authority's TEX Rail Regional Rail Line to Fort Worth and the DFW Airport Skylink People Mover. 

DART is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to assess the impacts and benefits of rail passenger service on the Cotton Belt Corridor. Project oversight will be conducted by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) in cooperation with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

For more information, visit https://www.dart.org/about/expansion/cottonbelt.asp

The D2 Project is the future second DART light rail alignment through downtown Dallas. The D2 Project will increase system capacity, provide operational flexibility and serve new markets. It is a critical element of sustaining the DART system into the future by adding core capacity to the network.

DART and the City Council adopted a Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) in September 2015, which included a mostly at-grade route. As project planning progressed, there were increasing concerns from downtown stakeholders regarding potential impacts of the LPA route. DART is now initiating efforts to refine D2 as a subway based on the following actions:

• Dallas City Council approved a resolution on October 11, 2016 recommending that DART develop a subway option for D2.
• DART Board of Directors approved its FY17 Twenty-Year Financial Plan on October 25, 2016 with an increased budget to accommodate a subway for D2, including authorization to seek a larger grant amount from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).

For more information, visit: http://www.dart.org/about/expansion/downtowndallas.asp