1st Look At Renderings Of Rail Stations Along Cotton Belt Commuter Line
CARROLLTON (CBSDFW.COM) - For the first time, North Texans can see for themselves what rail stations may look like along the proposed Cotton Belt Commuter Line.
On Monday night, DART hosted an open-house about the rail project, and will host two more within the next week.
The 26-mile rail line is set to extend from southeast Plano to Terminal B at DFW International Airport and the cities in between.
The project is set to begin operating in 2022, and while that may sound like a long way off, it's a little over four years from now.
Renderings from DART show not only what the rail stations might look like, but where they may be located and how they will fit into the neighborhoods around them.
DART says 7,000 people are expected to ride the Cotton Belt Line each day when it starts service in 2022.
That number will climb to more than 12,000 in 2040.
The federal government is conducting an environmental impact review, which DART is expecting approval of in April.
One of the things DART will consider is the impact on those who live along the existing rail line.
The agency's spokesman Morgan Lyons says, "There are probably going to be some places where we need to have some walls or things we can do with trees. We've been doing some sound measurements and the community is aware of that."
The project is slated to cost $1.1 billion dollars.
The DART Board recently gave the green light for the Cotton Belt project, along with the second rail line in downtown Dallas.
The agency will be holding open houses at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Richardson Civic Center and 7 p.m. Monday, September 25 at the Parkhill Junior High School cafeteria in Dallas.
