DART reaches vehicle testing start for upcoming Silver Line

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) has just begun to test trains for the new Silver Line that’s scheduled to open in less than three years. On May 5, the agency began evaluating Silver Line trains on local tracks.

DART worked with Trinity Metro — its Trinity Railway Express (TRE) partner — to secure track availability to test the trains, operators and vehicle systems. Silver Line trains will run on a TRE route every Sunday for the next few weeks. Test runs will be conducted on Sundays because there is no regular TRE service on that day, DART officials said in a press release.

A 26-mile commuter-rail route, the Silver Line will run through Grapevine, Coppell, Dallas, Carrollton, Addison, Richardson and Plano in north Texas. Revenue service is expected to start in late 2025 or early 2026.

The Silver Line project is more than 60% complete and trains will be fully tested in segments on the line’s tracks beginning in summer. Segmented testing — which is is necessary to ensure each portion of track functions as intended and the vehicle responds accordingly — is anticipated to conclude in early 2025, DART officials said. End-to-end testing is planned for summer 2025.

"It's exciting for everyone associated with this project because this means we’re that much closer to opening for revenue service and having passengers on these new trains," said Anthony Fuller, vice president of Silver Line maintenance and operation. "The goal is to operate these vehicles and ensure that all the systems are operating as they should while running, stopping and starting on the tracks."

Designed by Swiss manufacturer Stadler and assembled in Salt Lake City, Silver Line vehicles are powered by electric diesel multiple-unit-powered engines that meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards.