TEXRail tests Stadler trains at DFW airport

TEXRail this week tested its new Stadler trains at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

The units — Stadler's Fast Light Intercity- and Regional Train (FLIRT) model — passed dynamic testing on Oct. 10, which puts TEXRail one step closer to launching rail service, Stadler and TEXRail officials said in a press release.

Tests consisted of train clearance and activities to verify impacts to the ASR 9 radar tower. The tested section covered the alignment from the Dallas Fort Worth Junction to the DFW Airport Terminal B station.

Next steps will include a systemwide test to certify the commuter-rail system before testing is completed in December, officials said.

TEXRail service will operate on a 27-mile line between downtown Fort Worth and the airport's northern railway terminus. The route travels across northeast Tarrant County, through North Richland Hills and Grapevine, Texas.

TEXRail will be Fort Worth transit agency Trinity Metro's commuter-rail service. In June, Trinity Metro ordered eight of Stadler's diesel-electric, low floor multiple FLIRT units. The vehicles' design allows operation of a mixed fleet, including freight trains. The units meet the alternate-vehicle technology (AVT) requirements of the Federal Railroad Administration and Buy America.