The UTD Silver Line station opened today after six years in construction, connecting students to the DFW Airport, downtown Carrollton, malls and parks.
From Oct. 25 to Nov. 8, all riders can use the Silver Line free of charge. Students at UTD can additionally apply for free Dallas Area Rapid Transit passes through the Student Transit Pass system. Apart from servicing 10 stations, the Silver Line will connect students to the Red, Orange and Green lines.
“It’s going to be great,” DART Deputy Project Manager Ruben Landa said. “It gives students an opportunity to have access and be mobile around the entire region. It also conversely allows students around the region that want to go to college to have access to UTD.”
The line’s development has not been without struggle. When UTD officials held a groundbreaking for the light rail station on Sept. 19, 2019, the line was scheduled to be operational by 2023. However, the COVID-19 pandemic brought construction delays, moving back the opening to 2024. Following further permit delays, additional requests by city officials and taxpayer complaints, the line was pushed back to open in late 2025 or early 2026 — and held its ribbon-cutting ceremony last Thursday.
Despite its delays, UTD students have anticipated the station since the announcement of its construction. Biochemistry senior Harison Sakura, vice president of Comets for Better Transit — one of the largest activism groups on campus since 2021 — said the potential impacts of the rail station could change the university and region’s economy.
“The opening of the Silver Line allows a lot of people to access housing not on campus, which broadens the housing market,” Sakura said. “It also allows on-campus students to access retail areas. I’m personally looking forward to the Plano area stores.”
DART will host celebratory activities from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today, coinciding with service beginning. Silver Line stations will offer food trucks, tours of trains, live music and art installations. Landa said UTD students and local residents are encouraged to participate in the festivities.
“We’ve been working with UTD many, many times over the last six years and this is the climax,” Landa said. “An opportunity to be mobile gives opportunities for jobs, opportunities for education and opportunities to be one with their community, and that’s what I love about it.”
The new station is the first of multiple public transit projects coming to UTD and its surroundings. The North Central Texas Council of Governments plans to construct a bike path following the route of the Silver Line. Landa said the entire DART system will be modernized, with hundreds of new buses and retrofitting of old stations. Development Project Communications Manager Mario Zavala said the Silver Line will run a 60-train schedule with more trains during peak hours, which may change as students demonstrate demand.
“One thing DART is really good about is that we’re constantly monitoring our numbers and then adjusting schedules as we see fit,” Zavala said. “We’re trying to meet your needs.”