Media Relations Contact:
Morgan Lyons
Mark A. Ball
September 14, 2011
Enjoy a Blue Ribbon Ride to the Fair
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) is your pass to corn dogs, pig races and prize-winning fun at the State Fair of Texas® from September 30 to October 23. Details are available at www.DART.org/StateFair.
The fairgrounds are connected to two DART Rail Green Line stations -- Fair Park, located on Parry Avenue at the entrance to the fairgrounds, and MLK, Jr., located south of R.B. Cullum Blvd. and convenient to the Gate 6 entrance and the Cotton Bowl Stadium.
Extra Green and Red Line trains are being added each weekend. DART Rail and Trinity Railway Express (TRE) passengers can transfer easily to the Green Line: Southbound Red and Blue passengers transfer at Pearl or St. Paul stations and Northbound Red and Blue passengers should transfer at Akard Station. TRE passengers transfer to the Green Line at Victory Station. The Trinity Railway Express will operate on Sundays. Details are at TrinityRailwayExpress.org.
Special connections are planned for Saturday, October 8, and some passengers may use buses to complete their trip. Added DART Rail service will begin as early as 7 a.m. - four hours prior to the scheduled 11 a.m. kickoff. Go to www.DART.org/RedRiverRivalry for details.
A Day Pass is the best transit value
Local Day passes (DART Rail, local bus) are $4. Passengers riding the TRE from CentrePort will pay $7 for a System Day Pass. Customers coming from Tarrant County need to purchase a Regional Day Pass for $10. The fares are good for trains or buses or both. Passes are available at Ticket Vending Machines located at all DART and TRE stations.
Advance discount State Fair of Texas tickets with a DART Pass are available for $17 at a participating Kroger. The price includes one-time State Fair® admission and transportation on DART Rail and local buses on date of use.
Special game day service
College football and the fair go hand-in-hand and this year there are two big games.
DART has created special web pages for each game with detailed information about the additional service to help fans plan their trips:
As game day nears, sign up for service alerts and get the latest information about rail and bus service at www.DART.org/StateFair, or call 214-979-1111. To help accommodate the expected large crowds before and after the games, DART is adding light rail and buses and TRE trains.
State Fair Classic
- DART Rail will operate 3-car Green Line trains every 20 minutes prior to the game. Regular service for Red and Blue lines.
- Buses will be added to Route 409 (Cityplace to J.B. Jackson, Jr. Transit Center) and Route 60 (Union and Fair Park stations) before and after the game.
- Pre-game bus shuttles will operate from Pearl and Victory stations.
- TRE will operate hourly departures from Fort Worth to Dallas between 11:47 a.m. and 1:47 p.m. and between 3:17 p.m. and 6:17 p.m.
- TRE will operate hourly departures from Dallas to Fort Worth from 1:49 p.m. to 6:49 p.m. Schedule details are at TrinityRailwayExpress.org.
- The last TRE train to Fort Worth departs Union Station at 11:07 p.m. and Victory at 11:12 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The last Green Line train connecting with the TRE departs MLK at 10:33 p.m. and Fair Park at 10:36 p.m.
Texas - Oklahoma, Red River Rivalry
Look for additional DART staff at key stations as early as 6:30 Saturday morning to help you buy your ticket and make your connections. Game-day ticket sellers will be at these stations: North Carrollton/Frankford, Trinity Mills, Downtown Carrollton, Parker Road, Bush Turnpike, Arapaho Center, Mockingbird, Downtown Garland, Victory, St. Paul, Fair Park and MLK, Jr.
DART Rail
- Red Line trains to the Fair leave every 10 minutes from Parker Road Station to MLK, Jr. Station starting as early as 7 a.m. These trains operate as express trains through downtown Dallas and will not board or deboard passengers at Pearl, St. Paul, Akard, West End, Union, Convention Center or Cedars stations. Look for the trains with the destination sign SPECIAL and a STATE FAIR sign at the front of the train. These special Red Line trains do not serve Fair Park Station.
- Red Line trains going to Westmoreland Station will operate a regular Saturday schedule with trains departing every 30 minutes. Customers using those trains to go to the Fair should transfer to the Green Line at Pearl Station.
- Green Line trains to the Fair leave every 10 minutes from North Carrollton/Frankford Station for MLK, Jr. Station as early as 7 a.m. These trains will not serve Victory, West End, Akard, St. Paul, Pearl, Deep Ellum, Baylor and Fair Park stations. Transfer to the Green Line circulator at Union Station to reach those stations.
- Green Line trains leave every 10 minutes from Buckner Station for MLK, Jr. Station as early as 8 a.m., three hours before kickoff.
- The special Green Line circulator is back. It starts at 7 a.m. and will operate six trips per hour and serve these stations: Union, West End, Akard, St. Paul, Pearl, Baylor, and Deep Ellum, ending at Fair Park Station. The circulator does not stop at Convention Center or Cedars. The circulator operates continuously from 7 a.m. until approximately 8 p.m.
- Blue Line trains leave every 15 minutes from Downtown Garland Station starting at 7 a.m. Customers going to the fair should transfer at St. Paul Station where buses will also be available.
- All Green Line trains will be three-cars, with a capacity for approximately 500 passengers. All Red and Blue Line trains will be two cars (the maximum length for those stations). They have an approximate capacity of 400 passengers.
- Red Line northbound trains from Westmoreland and Blue Line northbound trains from Ledbetter will follow a regular Saturday schedule. Fairgoers on those trains should transfer to the Green Line circulator at either Union or West End stations.
- To respond to expected crowding on DART Rail, special bus service to the fair will be operated from these stations: Bush Turnpike (Red Line), Mockingbird (Red, Blue), and Trinity Mills (Green Line). Those buses will depart every 10 minutes. Buses from St. Paul Station will leave every five minutes.
Trinity Railway Express
- Trains depart Fort Worth T&P Station every 30 minutes from 7:17 a.m. to 10:47 a.m.
- Plan on leaving no later than the 8:47 train to make the scheduled 11 a.m. kickoff.
- Customers will finish their trip to the fairgrounds on buses at Victory Station. All TRE trains will be met by buses at Victory for a direct connection to the fair.
- Extra trains will be available post-game.
- Schedule details for October 8 are at TrinityRailwayExpress.org.
- The last TRE train to Fort Worth departs Union Station at 11:07 p.m. and Victory at 11:12 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The last Green Line train connecting with the TRE departs MLK at 10:33 p.m. and Fair Park at 10:36 p.m.
Plan and track your Texas-Oklahoma game travels online
New online tools help customers locate the nearest DART or Trinity Railway Express station or stop. Game day updates are available via Twitter (@dartmedia), email or, new this year, a special subscription text service. Sign up by texting DARTTXOU to 41411. Customers will receive service updates and reminders throughout the day. These services are offered for free by DART but users may have charges based on their cell phone contracts.
Get on board early on October 8
No matter how you're getting to the game, be sure to allow plenty of travel time so you do not miss a minute of the action. Extra service begins up to four hours before game time. In previous years trains began filling more than two hours before kickoff. Passengers using special bus service from Bush Turnpike and Mockingbird, Trinity Mills, Victory, or St. Paul stations may have the best opportunity to avoid the crowding on the Red and Green Line trains.
The trip doesn't end with the final whistle, so DART is working with State Fair staff to make the post-game departure and wait smooth. Staff will be on hand to get customers to the fastest areas to board for a return trip. Special service will continue for at least two hours after the game, so there's plenty of time to relax and get that extra corny dog.
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