Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART)
Dallas, TX
DART light rail began serving Union Station in 1996, significantly increasing station usage. Auto-centric and politically conservative Dallas is an improbable place for rail transit and numerous transit initiatives were defeated during my time there. Some mysterious force has been driving a remarkable expansion of the system over the past 15 years. Having a few minutes downtown on an Amtrak layover, I decided to hop on the Red Line and visit my old haunts at Mockingbird Lane.
Although I didn't have time to explore the old neighborhood, it was clear just by walking to street level that the area had been completely redeveloped since I'd lived there 20 years before. The lovely old Art Deco Dr. Pepper plant had been replaced with dense condos. Progress? Certainly, but I do miss the interesting moments and people that were once there.
Light Rail
Articulated truck with track brakes
Arriving at the station
Arriving at the station
Riding the train
Akard Station
Junction at Bryan St. and North Central Expressway
Junction
The Arts District and Guadalupe Cathedral
Mockingbird Lane Station
Mockingbird Lane Station
Red Line / Blue Line split
Condos
The Merrill Lynch building
Pantograph
Portal into tunnel under North Central Expressway
Blue Line train arrives at Mockingbird Station (video)
The homeless are still there in downtown
Ridin the train
Old signalling tower
Dealey Plaza