FORT WORTH, Texas — The first commuter rail from downtown Fort Worth to Dallas/Fort Worth Airport opened this past weekend – and Tarrant County residents were apparently ready for it.
More than 11,000 passengers rode the TEXRail train on the opening weekend: 6,489 on Saturday and 4,625 on Sunday, according to Trinity Metro, the Tarrant County transportation agency that operates the rail.
Fort Worth's downtown T&P Station, the Grapevine/Main Street Station and DFW Airport Terminal B were the most popular stops to board the train. On one stop Saturday, 220 riders boarded a train at the T&P Station. An afternoon stop on Saturday saw 236 riders board a train at the airport terminal.
"We anticipated strong turnout, but the number of riders exceeded our expectations," Trinity Metro president/CEO Paul Ballard said in a news release.
TEXRail, which costs $2.50 to ride from downtown to the airport, also makes stops on Fort Worth's North Side, northeast Fort Worth, and North Richland Hills. Trinity Metro projects that 8,000 passengers will ride TEXRail daily by the end of the year.