The FLIRT train from Stadler US Inc. seats 230 passengers. Dallas Area Rapid Transit selected Stadler to assemble and build eight of these trains.Photo – DART
The Dallas Area Rapid Transit's (DART) board last week entered a contract with Stadler US Inc. to assemble and build eight FLIRT trains, as well as design an equipment maintenance facility for the Cotton Belt regional rail project.
The Cotton Beltproject includes construction of a 26-mile alignment planned for DART's northern service area. The line will serve Grapevine, Coppell, Dallas, Carrollton, Addison, Richardson and Plano, Texas, and is scheduled to go into service in 2022, according to a DART press release.
Stadler’s FLIRT, which stands for Fast Light Intercity and Regional Train, is self-propelled by a diesel multiple unit and meets the Environmental Protection Agency’s Tier 4 emissions standards.
The vehicles seat 230 passengers and include automatic passenger counters and closed-circuit television. Each train is approximately 318 feet long and has four units, a power pack, four powered axles and eight unpowered axles.
Stadler intends to assemble and build the new DART trains in Salt Lake City.
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