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Dallas Area Rapid Transit Aug. 7 sent out its first test train on the 4.6-mile light-rail corridor on the Blue Line between LBJ/Skillman Station and Garland Central Stations, which is scheduled to open Nov. 18.



DART conducted live wire and clearance tests. In the live-wire test, workers monitor a slow-moving light-rail vehicle’s (LRV) traction electrification system to ensure the right amount of electricity is getting to the train as it travels. In the clearance test, workers monitor the train’s progress to ensure it passes safely past poles and over bridges, and receives information from the track-side signaling system.



By year-end, DART officials plan to more than double the seven-year-old, 20-mile light-rail system. In September 2001, DART opened the first three miles of an 11.2-mile extension. A three-and-a-half-mile segment to LBJ/Skillman Station opened May 6, and construction work is progressing on additional stations scheduled to open in Garland Nov. 18.



On its North Central Line, DART July 1 completed a nine-mile extension with four stations in north Dallas and three in Richardson. Three more track miles and stations are scheduled to open Dec. 9, extending the line to downtown Plano.