A key component to the Fort Worth Transit Authority’s TEX Rail line got the green light from the D/FW International Airport Board on Thursday.
The board approved a $40 million project that will build the terminating stop of the commuter rail at Terminal B. Two stations will be built on airport property, but D/FW Airport will pay to build the one that comes into the terminal.
The second station on airport property will be built by TEX Rail in Grapevine just north of Texas 114 and west of Texas 121 along Dallas Road.
Nearly 8,000 riders are expected once the rail line becomes operational in late 2018 and the stations at D/FW Airport are considered critical components of reaching that number and the rail line’s success.
While the line will connect downtown Fort Worth with stations on the city’s north side in Haltom City, North Richland Hills and Grapevine, it will primarily serve as a western rail line into the airport. The airport is currently served by the Dallas Area Rapid Transit light rail line from the east.
The TEX Rail station will have a walkway reaching the DART line station at the airport.
TEX Rail will cost around $1 billion, but most of that will be paid for through federal transportation grants and dollars.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Construction on the line is set to start this month, with construction on the D/FW station beginning sometime in the fall.
By 2035, ridership is expected to hit 18,000 people a day, per the airport board’s agenda documents.
