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Graphics available for download SLRV Information Cards Download Download Download Download Level Boarding at St. Paul Station Download Completed SLRV Vehicle Download SLRV In Place Download SLRV Being Attached Download SLRV Delivery Download Download Download Additional DART images are available for download at www.DART.org/newsphotos Audio available for download DART President/ Executive Director Gary Thomas on the SLRV project Right-click here to download and save the audio file

DART is updating its fleet of 115 light rail vehicles (LRV) by inserting a new, low-floor insert between the existing sections of the vehicle adding seating capacity and improving access through level boarding. The newly modified vehicles began service on June 23, 2008 with car #151.

Known as Super Light Rail Vehicles (SLRV) because of the greater length and added passenger capacity, the SLRV will seat approximately 100 passengers compared with 75 on the current vehicles. Standing passengers on the vehicle can nearly double the capacity.

The SLRVs - designed in partnership with rail vehicle manufacturer Kinkisharyo of Osaka, Japan - feature level boarding which will allow passengers with disabilities - plus people with strollers, bicycles and the like - to step or roll directly onto the trains without using mechanical lifts. This, in turn, enables faster and safer boarding and deboarding. Note: stanchions currently located in the center of each SLRV door will be removed once all station platforms are equipped to accommodate passengers in wheelchairs.

Smoother trips on DART Rail start with new level boarding It's easier than ever to step right on board a light rail train starting Saturday, November 6, 2010 when Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) marks the debut of level boarding at all light rail stations. This transition follows two-and-a-half years of construction and station closures. Special use platforms or "high blocks," which have served persons with disabilities and mobility challenges since the rail system opened in 1996, also will be removed from service, as these passengers begin utilizing the low-floor center doors in each train's center section. View more information at www.DART.org/LB

Because the initial SLRVs are modifications of the current fleet of 115 LRVs, they also have another advantage: the inserts are less expensive than full-sized cars.

DART's first SLRV, Car #170, went into service on the Blue Line in 2002 as a prototype. DART began taking delivery of the rail car inserts in late Winter 2008. The first SLRVs beyond #170 are scheduled to be in revenue service by late Spring or early Summer 2008. Each of DART's current 115 rail cars will be retrofitted with the new insert.

Key points

• Super Light Rail Vehicles (SLRVs) seat approximately 25 more people than the standard DART Light Rail Vehicle (which seats approximately 75 and has capacity for up to 150 passengers seated and standing).
  
  
• The SLRVs will allow passengers with disabilities - plus people with strollers, bicycles, etc. - to step or roll directly onto the trains without using mechanical lifts.
  
  
• A standard DART LRV is 92 feet, 8 inches long and weighs 107,000 pounds. The insert weighs 33,000 pounds and will add 31 feet to the vehicle.
  
  
• Each of DART's 115 light rail vehicles will be converted into super light rail vehicles (SLRVs) with the addition of the low-floor rail car insert.
  
  
• The insert kit (the car exterior, or shell, railcar truck, etc.) arrives at a DART assembly facility in Northwest Dallas from Japan. Once assembled, the car is delivered via flatbed trailer to a final assembly point near DART's current service and inspection facility near Fair Park where it is installed.
  
  
• During its conversion an LRV is first separated at the articulation point - the place between the two car sections where the vehicle bends and the low-floor car is inserted.
  
  
• It takes approximately five weeks to convert the LRV to an SLRV. From there it is turned over to DART staff for testing, modifications as needed, and final acceptance.
  
  
• The first SLRVs will begin revenue service in Summer 2008. The $190 million light rail vehicle conversion is scheduled for completion before the end of 2010.
  
  
• To support level boarding, DART's existing station platforms are being raised approximately seven inches. This effort will take approximately two years.
  
  
• The SLRV and level boarding projects will be completed in support of the DART Rail Green Line project, a 28-mile $1.8 billion project which will open in stages starting in September 2009 and will be completed in December 2010.
  
  
• The first phase of the Green Line is a four-station section connecting the current Pearl Station on the east end of Downtown Dallas with Fair Park and South Dallas. That section is scheduled to open in time for the State Fair of Texas in September 2009. Daily service to Victory Station near the American Airlines Center is scheduled to begin then as well.
  
  
• The second phase of the Green Line project extends the corridor from Fair Park southeast to Pleasant Grove. From Victory Station the line will travel through Northwest Dallas to Farmers Branch and Carrollton.

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Updated 10.29.10

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