Media Relations Contact:
Melissa Moorman
Interim Marketing Director
the T
Office 817-215-8645

September 25, 2001

TRE To Begin Fort Worth Service This Year Despite Weather Delays

FORT WORTH, TX -- The Trinity Railway Express (TRE) will roll into Fort Worth as promised this year despite enormous weather and construction complications. Service, previously scheduled for October 29, will now begin in downtown Fort Worth on Monday, December 3.

The Fort Worth/Dallas area has received about seven inches more rain than normal between January and September. Last winter, 26 days were lost to bad weather during a critical time period during which much civil construction was to have been accomplished. Rain through the summer and this month has continued to foil the project's progress.

Also, delivery of some materials and equipment slipped during the summer, including brick and special signals that are critical to the safe operation of the train. Layers of contractors were orchestrated to work in a small area of downtown, to transform it into a transportation hub. Each one's work depended on the completion of the last one. Simply put, the more than 70 contractors working overtime have not been able to make up the difference.

The complex construction project includes bridge construction, carving a tunnel through a historic building, designing and building a 31,000 square foot station, and creating a new alignment on Fort Worth's east side.

"The safety and comfort of our passengers are always first for us," said John Bartosiewicz, general manager of the T. TRE is a service constructed and operated in partnership by the T and DART.

"TRE passengers are a new generation of public transit riders," Bartosiewicz said. "They look to us to operate on time. They have never been exposed to public transit and we need everything working perfectly from the start. Already, ridership on the TRE has exceeded our projections. We are confident that once the service reaches Fort Worth, even more people will take the train to work and for fun."

TRE's western terminus will be the Texas & Pacific Station at 221 W. Lancaster Ave. The Intermodal Transportation Center at Ninth and Jones Streets will be an important component in the transportation network for all of Tarrant County. The facility will house the T's Customer Service Center, plus operations for Amtrak, circulator and route buses for the T, taxis and, in the future, Greyhound. An eight-bay bus transfer center will be located next to the station on the south side. Kiss-and-ride drive through areas will be outside the main entrance.

The TRE corridor is connecting downtown Dallas with downtown Fort Worth. Now open are Richland Hills, Hurst/Bell, CentrePort/DFW Airport, West and South Irving, Medical Market Center and Union Stations. During special events Victory Station serves the American Airlines Center.

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