DFW Airport Terminal A station

For other stations serving the airport, see DFW Airport station.

DFW Airport Terminal A station (sometimes simply DFW Airport station) is a DART light rail station at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. The station is the western terminus of the Orange Line, which connects the airport to Las Colinas and Downtown Dallas.

DFW Airport
Station platform with underpass to Terminal A on left
General information
Location	2049 North Service Road DFW Airport, Texas
Coordinates	32°54′25″N 97°02′25″W
Owned by	Dallas Fort Worth International Airport
Operated by	Dallas Area Rapid Transit
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Connections	TEXRail at DFW Airport Terminal B Trinity Metro: 31 (TRE Link) DFW Terminal Link: Terminals C, D, and E FlixBus
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Accessible	Yes
History
Opened	August 18, 2014 (2014-08-18)[1]
Passengers
FY23	1,278 (avg. weekday)[2]  17.6%
Services
Preceding station Dallas Area Rapid Transit Following station Terminus Orange Line Belt Line toward Parker Road
Location

Pedestrian walkways connect the station to the lower level of Terminal A and the DFW Airport Terminal B commuter rail station, which services TEXRail and a shuttle to the Trinity Railway Express station CentrePort/DFW Airport. The walkway between the Terminal A and Terminal B stations is also used as a FlixBus station.

Terminals C, D, and E can be accessed both landside (via DFW's Terminal Link shuttle) or airside (via the Skylink people mover) from Terminal A's upper level. Dallas's other major airport, Dallas Love Field, can be accessed by taking the Orange Line to Inwood/Love Field station; a trip between DFW Airport and Inwood/Love Field takes approximately 39 minutes.^[3]

History

A rail connection to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport was a component of DART's initial rail plan, dating back to 1983. The proposed route entailed entering the airport from the north, as several developers offered to pay for part of the line if it passed through Las Colinas, a neighborhood of Irving.^[4] A similar proposal was made in 2002 by the municipal government of Irving.^[5]

While most plans for the DFW airport station were located between Terminals A and B, a 2009 study by the North Central Texas Council of Governments suggested an alternate location at the northern edge of the airport. The station would be located on a former Cotton Belt corridor that was planned to be used for commuter rail. Terminal access would be provided through an extension of the airport's Skylink people mover.^[6] This plan was rejected by the city of Irving, which desired a direct connection to the terminal.^[7]

Construction of the 5-mile (8.0 km), $397 million Orange Line segment from Belt Line to the airport began in 2011.^[8][9] $120 million of the segment's funding came from a federal TIFIA loan.^[10] DART constructed the rail lines into the new station, while DFW Airport designed and constructed the station itself.^[9][11] The station opened on August 18, 2014.^[1]