Texan Eagle
Conductor
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2011
- Messages
- 1,705
Today I decided to check out one of the newest commuter rail lines in the country- the Denton A-Train that started operation less than a year ago, in July 2011. I did the entire run- Trinity Mills station to Downtown Denton Transit Center. The train was a 2 car Budd Rail Diesel Car that was first built over 50 years ago-
The train may be old, but the interiors have been refurbished quite nice. The seats were very comfortable-
These old trains will soon be replaced by brand new Stadler GTW trainsets. I saw as many as six of these new trains sitting in the yard. I am not sure why they ordered so many, maybe long term future planning. As of now only one train goes up and down the line during weekends and maybe two trains run on weekdays. The route has only 4 stations and out of those, only two have passing tracks. Moreover, the occupancy levels on the train are quite poor. I talked to a Sheriff officer (cop) who rides up and down the train all day ensuring every passenger has a ticket, and he said the trains do not get full even during weekday office commuter hours, so I am not sure how many trains they plan to run.
The journey is quite ordinary in terms of scenery, like any other commuter rail, the train hit a maximum speed of 65 miles/hr a couple of times. The only notable highlight is crossing the Lewisville Lake on a bridge running parallel to Interstate 35E.
The new trains sitting in the yard-
The cop takes a catnap (and an energy drink!) during the journey. I guess he needs both when he is assigned this rather monotonous duty to do all day.
The train may be old, but the interiors have been refurbished quite nice. The seats were very comfortable-
These old trains will soon be replaced by brand new Stadler GTW trainsets. I saw as many as six of these new trains sitting in the yard. I am not sure why they ordered so many, maybe long term future planning. As of now only one train goes up and down the line during weekends and maybe two trains run on weekdays. The route has only 4 stations and out of those, only two have passing tracks. Moreover, the occupancy levels on the train are quite poor. I talked to a Sheriff officer (cop) who rides up and down the train all day ensuring every passenger has a ticket, and he said the trains do not get full even during weekday office commuter hours, so I am not sure how many trains they plan to run.
The journey is quite ordinary in terms of scenery, like any other commuter rail, the train hit a maximum speed of 65 miles/hr a couple of times. The only notable highlight is crossing the Lewisville Lake on a bridge running parallel to Interstate 35E.
The new trains sitting in the yard-
The cop takes a catnap (and an energy drink!) during the journey. I guess he needs both when he is assigned this rather monotonous duty to do all day.
