DALLAS — DART's Green Line debut to the Texas-OU game at the Cotton Bowl last year got a failing grade from hundreds of riders.
Many frustrated football fans got stuck on light rail trains in a gridlock that lasted for hours.
"It's just broken," said one rider. "They are not ready for the mass of people."
The problems forced the transit agency to look at where mistakes had been made.
"The rail service is going to be the backbone for Texas-OU," said DART spokesman Morgan Lyons.
So on Sunday — six months before the Red River rivalry heats up again — DART took a closer look at its game day strategy, testing a new plan to move people in and out of Fair Park more quickly and reliably.
"We want to test a circular movement on the Green Line where they are running in a clockwise rotation and moving as much capacity as we can to the fair," Lyons said.
Before the game, DART will run trains on two tracks at the same time in the same direction to Fair Park.
"We will be able to reverse that, so trains would run through downtown then back through the switching yard," Lyons explained.
That change also lets DART add more Red Line trains that will arrive at MLK Station near the Cotton Bowl.
Buses will also be part of DART's playbook. The agency will run more of them, some of which may be positioned at rail stations.
If trains are delayed or full, passengers can hop aboard a bus to Fair Park.
Similar exercises will be repeated in the next few months, with the goal that no matter who wins on the gridiron, DART will win with riders.
E-mail mdiaz@wfaa.com
