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Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s (DART) existing and soon-to-be-expanded light-rail system will spur more than $8 billion in economic activity, according to a recent study released by the University of North Texas Center for Economic Development and Research.

In addition, DART’s plan to more than double its 45-mile light-rail system during the next 10 years will provide $3 billion in labor income and generate $200 million in indirect business taxes for the state of Texas. So far, the agency’s rail lines have attracted $3.3 billion in transit-oriented development, which yields $78 million annually in property tax revenue. New retail developments near DART stations are projected to produce $650 million in taxable sales per year, which will generate about $40.6 million in sales tax income for the state and $6.5 million for local municipalities, according to the study.

Last fall, DART began building the 27.7-mile, 20-station Green Line from Pleasant Grove northwest through the Dallas city center to Carrollton. The agency also will build a 14-mile, seven-station Orange Line from northwest Dallas to DFW International Airport, extend the Blue Line east and south, and build a second rail line in the Dallas Central Business District.