The T has purchased four EMD F59-PH locomotives and 16 bi-level passenger cars to complete Phase 2a of the Trinity Railway Express Commuter Rail service between Fort Worth and Dallas. The Trinity Railway Express project is being developed jointly by DART and the T. Dart opened Phase 1 of the service in December 1996, extending from downtown Dallas to Irving.
The cars were purchased from GO Transit in Toronto, Canada. The locomotives are virtually new and the coaches will receive refurbished interiors before entering service. The locomotives and two of the cars will arrive sometime in the next month, and will probably be stored at Trinity Railway Express' Irving Yard near Rock Island Road and County Line Road.
The cars were built by Bombardier in Canada. "Four of the cars have control cab at one end, which will allow trains to be operated in push-pull mode," says Paul C. Byrne, Intermodal Project Manager for the T.
The trains running between Fort Worth and Dallas will operate on a 50-minute headway, which means they need to carry up to 800 passengers during peak periods.
Each bi-level car can carry 146 to 162 seated passengers. Operating them in five or six-car consists will allow a capacity of 800 to 900 persons per train. These cars have low floors and double doors at each end for fast loading and unloading.
Of the 16 cars, 14 of them are presently under lease to Metrolink in the Los Angeles area. These will be delivered next year, after undergoing a mid-life overhaul.
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