Dallas Transportation
American Airlines DFW Terminal between Dallas and Fort Worth; (c) Quintin Soloviev/Wiki Commons
Airports
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) is America’s 8th busiest passenger airport with tons of domestic and international flights that fan across the globe. Though extremely large, DFW is laid out in a logical manner. Each of its 5 terminals has WiFi, gift shops, cafes, lounges, business amenities, and emergency services.
Skylink automated people mover shuttles passengers between every terminal every 2 minutes and completes its cycle in 9 minutes. DART light rail connects DFW Airport to Union Station in downtown Dallas. Shuttles stop at each terminal.
Car Rentals: Take the Skylink within each terminal to Avis, Hertz, National, and Thrifty car renters. Exit any DFW terminal via International Parkway. The parkway connects to State Highway (SH) 183 on the South if you are headed to downtown Dallas. Take SH 114 North if you are headed to northern Dallas. Taxis park outside each terminal. From DFW, it takes 30-50 minutes to reach downtown Dallas, depending on commute hours.
Though smaller, Dallas Love Field (DAL) has frequent flights to nationwide destinations.
Taxis are outside the main terminal (Yellow 312-829-4222 and Checker 312-243-2537). Rides downtown take 15 to 25 minutes. DART runs a frequent light rail line from DAL to downtown Dallas. Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Hertz, and National brands provide 24/7 car rental counter service and shuttle buses to their lots.
Train Station
Dallas Union Station, stop by Amtrak Long-Distance trains; (c) Soul Of America
Amtrak is hosted by Dallas Union Station, located at 400 South Houston Street. Oddly, there is no Dallas-Houston rail service, but a once-daily round-trip, Amtrak Texas Eagle, serves San Antonio-Austin-Dallas-Little Rock-St. Louis-Chicago.
A private company has active plans to build a Dallas-Houston High-Speed Rail line if it continues overcoming obstacles. The HSR line will complete the journey in 90 minutes. Some time afterward, it would connect with the emerging Interstate High-Speed Rail System. See this important article about Interstate High Speed Rail Progress.
Tours
Gray Line
Sightseeing adventures daily, ranging from tours of the city to a real-life western ranch; Professional drivers share their expertise.
ADDRESS: 710 East Davis Street
PHONE: 972-263-0294
Longhorn Tours
Daily sightseeing excursions of the major attractions around Dallas; 7a-5p; accommodates 15 to 1000 people
ADDRESS: 1634 East Irving Blvd
PHONE: 972-721-0545
McKinney Avenue Trolley
Ride a vintage electric trolley car on busy city streets serenaded by the clang of the bell, toot of the whistle, the whine of the motors, the thump of the air compressor, and the hiss of the air brakes. These streetcars have logged thousands of miles since reopening in 1989, up and down McKinney Ave between Uptown Historic District, Dallas Arts District, West End, downtown hotels, and West Village. They also connect to DART light rail and run daily every 15 to 30 minutes for FREE.
PHONE: 214-855-0006
WEBSITE: http://www.mata.org
Rapid Transit
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) light rail, TRE commuter rail, rapid buses, and taxis utilize the restored Dallas Union Station, which serves as a Multimodal Transportation Center for 4 DART lines intersecting at West End, Akard, St. Paul, and Pearl Stations in downtown Dallas.
DART Light Rail stop at Dallas Union Station; (c) Soul Of America
Blue: Ledbetter-Union Station-West End-CityPlace-Mockingbird-Garland-Rowlett
Red: Westmoreland-Dallas Zoo-Union Station-West End-CityPlace-Parker Road
Green: North Carrollton-Bachman-Victory-West End-Deep Ellum-Fair Park-MLK-Buckner
Orange: Union Station-Victory-Bachman-Irving Convention Ctr-Las Colinas-Beltline-DFW Airport
Trinity Railway Express (TRE) commuter rail line provides frequent daily service within the Dallas Union Station-Irving Centreport/DFW-Richland Hills-Ft. Worth corridor.
Freeways
Dallas Freeway & Tollway Network is logical, extensive, and the signage is adequate. The hub & spoke freeway network radiates from downtown Dallas.
Though you have periods of fast-moving traffic, count on heavy congestion between DFW and downtown Dallas during commute hours and between Arlington and downtown dallas during big football event weekends. The HOV lanes and traffic info displays help during commute hours. Tollways are moderately priced for the mileage traveled.