Dallas has the state's only subway station
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Take three long escalators to the bowels of U.S. 75 and you'll find a subway station that may remind you of public transit in other major cities.
Why it matters: The Cityplace/Uptown station is the only active subway station in Texas. It sits 10 stories — or roughly 120 feet — underground, serving three DART lines.
Driving the news: DART is in the midst of a three-year project to revitalize the station, including escalator upgrades, better lighting and new ticket vending machines.
- The plan is part of a broader initiative to modernize the transit system and improve the rider experience.
Flashback: The station opened in 2000, costing $50 million. At the time, DART described it as "an engineering masterpiece four years in the making."
- The 3.25-mile tunnel where the station sits runs through an Austin Chalk geologic formation that is over 80 million years old, per DART.
Vibe check: A robotic voice announces train arrivals, cell signal is hard to find and the lighting feels dim.
- But, unlike New York's subway stations, the Dallas station is clean and doesn't smell.
The upside: The city of Dallas considers Cityplace/Uptown a transit-oriented development.
- The area surrounding the station is one of the city's densest areas, per DART, with office buildings, housing, retail, hotels and access to the Katy Trail.
- Riders can access the historic M-Line Trolley and DART's Blue, Orange and Red lines from the Cityplace/Uptown station.
Yes, but: The Cityplace/Uptown station gets significantly fewer visitors than public transit-oriented cities typically do.
- The station's average weekday ridership was around 1,440 people in 2024, per DART records. Saturdays averaged around 1,200 people.
What's next: The station's updates began in 2025 and are expected to continue until 2028. DART says one of the escalators will be out of service until this summer because it is being replaced.
- The agency will also pilot fare gates at the station as it considers expanding fare gates to its entire system, per the Dallas Business Journal.