Dallas/Fort Worth airport now has a light rail connection to downtown Dallas with this week's opening of an 8km extension to the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) network.
The DFW station on DART's Orange line is a three-minute walk from domestic Terminal A, which is home to American Airlines, but accessible from other terminals – including the International Terminal D used by Qantas' daily QF7/8 flight – via the elevated Skylink people-mover train or Terminal Link shuttle bus service.
The Orange line snakes its way from DFW to the Irving Convention Centre and University of Dallas before continuing on to a cluster of downtown stations.
A one-way ride between DFW and the downtown Dallas stations takes 60 minutes, with prices starting at US$1.75 for an off-peak ticket, although most travellers will stump for the US$5 day pass.
"Passenger rail is a critical component to DFW's status as a top-tier international gateway," DFW CEO Sean Donohue said.
"With the DART Orange Line connecting DFW to downtown Dallas, DFW is now on a par with global hub airports that have integrated rail, which is a major selling point for customers and conventions."
Qantas will upgrade its daily QF7/QF8 service between Sydney and Dallas from a Boeing 747 to an Airbus A380 from September 29, 2014.
For more information on the DART service, visit www.DART.org.
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David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
02 Jul 2011
Total posts 1374
Should be noted for pax arriving on QF services that they will arrive into Terminal D, clear customs/ collect bags and then be airside without a continuing boarding pass (with no access to SkyLink) and thus will need to use the external shuttle services which are hit and miss.
Coming back, am not sure whether or not you will be able to get airside or not.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
01 Oct 2013
Total posts 92
If they haven't yet updated the self-serve kiosks in Terminal A with a QF option (last time I was there, they hadn't), then nope, you've gotta take the shuttle to Terminal D - OLCI boarding passes won't satisfy the TSA dragons.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
19 Feb 2014
Total posts 439
Ah hour!! So an average speed of ~35km/h. At least the price is good...
AA
14 Aug 2013
Total posts 28
if you're that concerned about train speed per se, take your landside shuttle bus to the Trinity Rail Express CentrePort station south of the aiport. This heavier rail commuter train makes the trip downtown in 30 minutes.
04 Nov 2012
Total posts 212
We piad $90 one way in a taxi DFW to city, this is fantastic.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
01 Oct 2013
Total posts 92
Still better than SYD's AirportLink! Been waiting for DART to finally finish the line ever since it was announced 4 years ago - considering that it takes about ~$70 + tip and 40 minutes to get to Dallas' CBD via taxi anyways.
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