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.

👋🏽 Hey there. Ryan here, from Axios Pittsburgh.

• I recently visited Dallas and stumbled upon an unparalleled Texas experience: the subway.

Vibe check: My friend and I ate lunch at E-Bar Tex Mex in East Dallas and decided to use DART's Cityplace/Uptown station to explore more parts of the city.

• We walked over to Cityplace Tower and struggled to find DART signage, but eventually entered at the backside of the tower and found our way down.
• It was a Friday afternoon, and the station was mostly empty, as was the Red line train.

How it works: Reaching the station takes three sets of long escalators or stairs.

• There are also two inclined elevators, but one was out of service when I visited.
• We waited about 12 minutes for our train, less time than I would have expected for a train in car-dependent Texas.

Pro tip: Entering at the west entrance at Cityplace Boulevard and Howell Street is more sensible than trying to find the station entrance inside the halls of the Cityplace tower to the east.

💭 My thought bubble: Even though I live in Pennsylvania, I knew Texas' public transit reputation was subpar. I still didn't expect there to be only one subway station in a state with 31 million people!

• The Pittsburgh metro area — home to about 2.4 million people and public transit that leaves many wanting more — has four subway stations.

🚨 One man died and another was critically injured after they were electrocuted while working in a bucket truck in Fort Worth. (DMN)

🎟️ Universal Kids Resort is holding in-person auditions for actors and performers later this week. (NBC5)

🎭 The Historic Lancaster Theatre has reopened after years of renovations. The venue dates back to the late 1800s. (KERA)

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Our gloomy weekend began with a spectacular sunset on Friday.

Why it matters: Our typical sunset is a burst of orange, pink and blue — the sky in art form.

• This sight in Carrollton was because of crepuscular rays, which radiate from the sun like beams as they peek out from between clouds.

Fun fact: The beams of light are sometimes referred to as God rays.

What's next: Rain chances return to North Texas on Tuesday and will continue through Wednesday night, per the National Weather Service.