Trinity Railway Express HO Scale Models

The Trinity Railway Express traces its origins to a corridor that once belonged to the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. When that storied carrier collapsed in bankruptcy, the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth recognized an opportunity to preserve the right-of-way for public transportation purposes, and in 1983 they jointly purchased the line for approximately 34 million dollars. The acquisition laid the physical groundwork for what would eventually become one of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex's primary intercity transit connections. The service itself was established through an interlocal agreement between Dallas Area Rapid Transit and the agency now known as Trinity Metro, with each authority holding an equal ownership stake in the joint venture. Herzog Transit Services has served as the contracted operator of the line throughout its history. Revenue service began on December 30, 1996, making the Trinity Railway Express one of the earlier commuter rail operations in Texas. Initial service connected Dallas Union Station to the South Irving Transit Station and was limited to weekday rush-hour periods. The railroad expanded its service offerings incrementally in subsequent years, adding midday and evening runs in December 1997 and Saturday service in December 1998. A significant milestone came in September 2000 when the line was extended east to Richland Hills, establishing for the first time a rail connection between downtown Dallas and the vicinity of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. The western extension reached its current terminus at the Texas and Pacific Station in downtown Fort Worth on December 3, 2001, completing the full corridor that the service operates today. The Trinity Railway Express takes its name from the Trinity River, whose West Fork flows generally from Fort Worth toward Dallas, roughly paralleling the rail corridor. The roughly 34-mile route passes through Irving, crosses the Dallas County and Tarrant County boundary, skirts the southern edge of several mid-cities communities including Arlington and Hurst, and threads through Haltom City before entering Fort Worth from the northeast. Because the line runs several miles south of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport rather than directly serving it, Trinity Metro operates a connecting shuttle bus service branded as TRE Link between the CentrePort/DFW station and the airport's Terminal B, where passengers can also connect to the TEXRail commuter line. As of 2025 the system carried approximately 1.3 million annual riders, ranking it among the middle tier of commuter rail operations in the United States by ridership. Over its operational life the railroad has undergone notable changes to its rolling stock. Initial service was provided temporarily by equipment leased from Amtrak and the Connecticut Department of Transportation while the intended fleet of Budd Rail Diesel Cars was being prepared. Those RDCs, originally built in the 1950s for Canadian Pacific, Canadian National, and Boston and Maine before being acquired used from Via Rail Canada, entered service in early 1997 and remained the backbone of the fleet for roughly fourteen years. They were retired from Trinity Railway Express service by March 2011 and most were eventually sold or donated to other operators or institutions. The current fleet relies on EMD diesel locomotives, including units acquired secondhand from GO Transit and Amtrak, paired with Bombardier and Hawker Siddeley bi-level coaches and cab cars. An order for Siemens Charger locomotives announced in 2024 is expected to bring more modern motive power to the line by 2026.