DART marks 250,000,000 light rail passenger trips in June
July 3, 2012
Passenger Rail
DALLAS, TX — Don Johnson wasn’t quite sure what to expect when a small group of people and a gaggle of news cameras converged on him as he got off the Red Line at Union Station on an early June Monday morning. What he soon found out was he was making history and the crowd was on hand to help celebrate.
Johnson was the 250 millionth customer on Dallas Area Rapid Transits’ light rail system. The daily rider was greeted by DART President/Executive Director Gary Thomas and Michael Melaniphy, president and chief executive officer of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), who was is in Dallas for the annual APTA Rail Conference. Johnson was also congratulated by Cathy Rigby, who will appear in “Peter Pan” July 10 at Fair Park.
“I started riding DART because of gas prices about 10 years ago,” Johnson said. “But it’s comfortable and gives me a chance to read while I’m on the train so I stayed. I love DART.”
Johnson, who is from DeSoto, TX and works at Vent-a-Hood in Richardson, was randomly selected from commuters by DART staff to represent all riders of the 72 mile, 55-station system that began 16 years ago. DART Rail ridership is calculated on a variety of factors, including statistical sampling.
As part of the recognition, DART will award the customer four monthly Regional passes good for use in July, along with tickets to popular destinations such as the Dallas Zoo, Children’s Aquarium at Fair Park, Hawaiian Falls, Dallas Summer Musicals and the Museum of Nature & Science.
“This is a great day and a neat milestone for us,” Thomas said. “But I’m also thinking about the individual trips and special moments that preceded this one. School kids made their first trips to the zoo, or a Mavericks’ or Stars’ game on DART. People have met, gone on first dates and found their spouses on DART. Our customers plan special outings around our service. We’ve really become woven into the fabric of the region and that’s what’s exciting to me.”
Spring is when large-scale model railroaders with their green thumbs plant and prune colorful foliage grown nearly to scale. In some areas, maintaining outdoor layouts is quite challenging because of changing weather. Nancy Norris, an author who builds garden railroads professionally, says some plant varieties have become more difficult to grow in certain Hardiness Zones. In some cases it means garden railroaders having to put more emphasis on growing native plants rather than relying on varieties more susceptible to extreme conditions. She recommends new gardeners consult with their local nurseries for the best choices for an outdoor layout. Norris also has a few recommendations of her own.
Sweeping tariffs imposed on goods imported into the United States are stirring model railroad manufacturers. As a result, model railroading and other hobbies will cost more. In February the U.S. applied a 10 percent tariff on goods imported from China, and the tax has since escalated. Suppliers – including Athearn, InterMountain Railway Co., Broadway Limited, Rapido Trains and ScaleTrains – have been putting dealers and customers on notice that prices will increase tariffs are implemented.
The first rule of railroading is “expect movement on any track at any time in any direction.” This may seem like an overabundance of caution, but railroading is a dangerous sport. Always expect a train when you’re around the tracks. The second rule of railroading is that there is an exception to every rule. The North American freight car fleet in 2023 consisted of 2.03 million rail cars, according to Railinc’s Umler Equipment Index. Rail car fleet management — how empty cars get dispatched to move to their next loading point — is an ever-moving process and often requires fleet car managers to be nimble.
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