DALLAS — Dallas-Area Rapid Transit (DART) is preparing for the heavy influx of fans and fairgoers attending both the Red River Rivalry game and the State Fair of Texas by increasing services over the weekend.
On Saturday, Oct. 12, DART said it is increasing staff presence across the system to help ensure everyone gets to their destination in a timely, safe manner.
This is crucial for fans like Bobby Crisp, a die-hard Longhorns fan, and Chuck Zamaria, who loves the Sooners.
The two star-crossed friends have made the trek to Dallas every year for the last 20 years to watch the Red River Rivalry game together.
“We always try and get a hotel near a DART station and then come down," Zamaria explained about their game day plans. "It's so much easier and now it's crowded on game day."
According to DART, trains begin filling up more than three hours before kickoff, which is at 2:30 p.m. this year, so riders are encouraged to arrive early.
Last year, nearly 210,000 fans filled the Cotton Bowl and Fair Park for what’s considered one of the best weekends in college football.
“This Saturday is the biggest day of the year for us in our whole entire region,” said DART Chief Operations Officer Bernard Jackson.
To deal with these large crowds, DART said it is adding additional light rail service, special bus shuttles and Trinity Railway Express (TRE) trains with special connections.
DART said the Green Line will be fans' connection to the 120th consecutive meeting between Texas and Oklahoma.
The Green Line will take you to Fair Park Station, which is located on Parry Avenue at the State Fair of Texas entrance, or you can get off at MLK, Jr. Station, which is near the Gate 6 entrance of the Cotton Bowl.
According to DART, DART Light Rail and TRE riders can easily connect to the Green Line by looking for trains marked "Fair Park," "Buckner," or "Lawnview" to find the service. The frequency of these Green Line trains will be increased as well as the number of cars per train.
DART said that Red, Blue and Orange Line services will also get an increase in frequency per train; every 20 minutes on Saturdays and Sundays between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. there will be service on these lines.
According to DART, TRE services will be available to get fans to the game with transfers to the Green Line available at Victory Station. More info can be found here.
In addition to all of this, DART will also offer special bus shuttles at 9:30 a.m. Saturday to Fair Park from the following stations:
- Parker Road Station
- City Line/Bush Station
- EBJ Union Station
- Pearl/Arts District Station
- Trinity Mills Station
- Victory Station
After the game, DART said return buses will line up along Parry Avenue in front of Fair Park Station to take fans back to Pearl/Arts District Station and Victory Station.