December 6, 2025

There and gone: Downtown Fort Worth trains tunnel through transit headquarters

It’s a moment that Fort Worth rail riders will not soon forget.

Approximately 140 passenger trains depart from Central Station in downtown and go all day long to Trinity Metro’s Grove Street headquarters.

The building is not circled by the trains. Rather, they pass through it because of a brief tunnel that is incorporated into the property’s rear and contains the train line.

Dave Carter, standing on the rail platform of the station, remarked, “That’s pretty cool.”

Employees of Trinity Metro, who have been at 801 Grove St. since late 2021, reported that trains don’t make too much noise as they pass. However, officials noted that because the back part of the structure over the tunnel is not authorized for office space, it is still unoccupied.

Although it lacks the public appeal of the city’s renowned but defunct rail tunnel, it is nevertheless seen as a feasible transit option and is primarily used by TEXRail, Trinity Railway Express, and Amtrak trains.The M&O subway ran in downtown Fort Worth for seven miles from 1963 and 2002. The Trinity River Campus of Tarrant County College, which built in 2009, still has a portion of that former subway tunnel underneath it.

TEXRail, which connects downtown Fort Worth to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, is seeing an increase in ridership, according to Trinity Metro Chief Operating Officer Reed Lanham.

With the help of a $25 million federal grant that officials believe they are still on pace to receive, the agency is preparing to expand TEXRail into the Medical District. Since the project was originally planned to cover the Texas Christian University region, travel along Granbury Road, and continue south of Interstate 20 to Sycamore School Road, TEXRail may eventually extend much further south.

According to Lanham, a former vice president of rail for Trinity Metro, our ridership is increasing at a respectable pace.

Due to the large number of workers and passengers using DFW Airport, TEXRail has experienced annual growth of roughly 12% to 14% as travel has switched primarily from weekends to include more weekday ridership.

According to Lanham, our daily averages are steadily increasing. For each month, a new record is set. Whether it’s the parade of lights in Fort Worth, the tree lighting down here, or all the events taking place in Grapevine, our Christmas ridership continues to surpass the others.

When the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Silver Line opens later this year, perhaps in late October, TEXRail will have better rail connectivity. The Silver Line will connect passengers to northern Dallas County and Collin County, sharing Trinity Metro’s two DFW Airport stops. Riders can also walk a short distance to reach the DART Orange Line at Terminal A from the airport’s Terminal B stop.

“It’s definitely making regional travel easier,” said Glenn Miller, head of marketing for Trinity Metro.

According to officials, passengers are aware of the advantages of rail travel’s stress-free simplicity and affordability.

“Once you give it a try, you’re going to love it,” Lanham stated.

The Fort Worth Report employs Eric E. Garcia as a senior business reporter. [email protected] is his email address.

We make news decisions without consulting our board members or sponsors. Find out more about our policy on editorial independence here.

Opinions are plentiful, but facts are more difficult to get. At the Fort Worth Report, we provide truth-based local reporting so you can make wise choices for your community and yourself.

The journalistic Trust Initiative has accredited Fort Worth Report for upholding ethical journalistic standards.

Republish this narrative

Creative Commons License

Noncommercial organizations are exempt from republishing fees. It is forbidden for businesses to operate without a license. For further information, get in touch with us.

Republish this article

The Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License governs this work.

  • Look for the “Republish This Story” button underneath each story. To republish online, simply click the button, copy the html code and paste into your Content Management System (CMS). Do not copy stories straight from the front-end of our web-site.


  • You are required to follow the guidelines and use the republication tool when you share our content. The republication tool generates the appropriate html code.

  • You are required to add this language at the top of every republished story, including a link to the story.

    This story was originally published by the Fort Worth Report. You may read

    the original version here



    .

  • You can t edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style.
  • You can t sell or syndicate our stories.
  • Any web site our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization.

  • If you use our stories in any other medium for example, newsletters or other email campaigns you must make it clear that the stories are from the Fort Worth Report. In all emails, link directly to the story at fortworthreport.org and not to your website.
  • If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using

    @FortWorthReport


    on Facebook and

    @FortWorthReport


    on Twitter.

  • You have to credit Fort Worth Report. Please use Author Name, Fort Worth Report in the byline. If you re not able to add the byline, please include a line at the top of the story that reads: This story was originally published by Fort Worth Report and include our website,

    fortworthreport.org


    .

  • You can t edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style.
  • Our stories may appear on pages with ads, but not ads specifically sold against our stories.
  • You can t sell or syndicate our stories.
  • You can only publish select stories individually not as a collection.
  • Any web site our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization.
  • If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using

    @FortWorthReport

    on Facebook and

    @FortWorthReport


    on Twitter.

There and gone: Downtown Fort Worth trains tunnel through transit headquarters

Avatar photo

Janet Trew

Janet Trew is a seasoned writer with over five years of experience in the industry. Known for her ability to adapt to different styles and formats, she has cultivated a diverse skill set that spans content creation, storytelling, and technical writing. Throughout her career, Janet has worked across various niches, from US news, crime, finance, lifestyle, and health to business and technology, consistently delivering well-researched, engaging, and informative content.

View all posts by Janet Trew →

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *