Plano's Train to DFW Turns One Just as Its Schedule Gets Thinner

The DART Silver Line opened on October 25, 2025. It runs from Plano's Shiloh Road Station through 12th Street to DFW Airport Terminal B. It reaches its first anniversary six days after a timetable change that makes it an hourly train for most of the week.

Starting October 19, missing a Silver Line train outside weekday rush hours will cost you a full hour. From that date, using the line from Plano works like booking a connecting flight. You plan for one particular departure, and you work back from your gate time to the platform.

What changes on October 19

DART's service change page lists two Silver Line updates, four weeks apart. The September 21 update added trips. The October 19 update takes back part of that gain.

DART's notice says service "will be reduced in the evening and on weekends," with "60-minute spacing instead of 30 to 60 minutes on both directions." The schedule page doesn't explain the change, so this post won't guess at one.

Until October 19, the September timetable stays in effect. After that, half-hourly service will be limited to weekday peak periods. A Saturday morning flight, a Sunday night return, or a weekday trip planned around the lunch hour all run on an hourly train. Under the September timetable, a trip from Shiloh Road to Terminal B took about 55 minutes. Add up to an hour of waiting if you just show up at the platform, and the train can lose to a car on the trip that matters most.

DART posts new weekday and weekend timetables for October 19 from both Shiloh Road and DFW Terminal B on the same service change page. Open those before you plan a holiday flight. Don't go by memory of last year's schedule.

Shiloh Road and 12th Street are not interchangeable

Plano has two Silver Line stations, and the hourly schedule makes the differences between them matter more.

Shiloh Road Station, at 1001 Shiloh Rd, is the line's eastern terminus. It sits in Plano's industrial business district, and its pop art includes a large electrical plug structure that appears to run from a nearby substation. DART's Silver Line directory shows 600 parking spaces at Shiloh Road and 233 at 12th Street. That difference counts during a holiday week, when people leave cars for several days.

12th Street Station is a few blocks from downtown Plano. It connects to the Orange and Red lines, and DART describes it as within walking distance of downtown shops, restaurants, and historic landmarks, including the Douglass Community. In the September timetable, trains stopped at 12th Street about four minutes after leaving Shiloh Road.

There's one conflict to know about. DFW Airport's Silver Line stops page has a "Limited Service Notice" saying the stops "from CityLine/Bush to 12th Street operate weekdays peak only." DART's September 21 weekday timetable lists a 12th Street time for every departure it shows. The two sources don't agree. If you plan to board at 12th Street on a weekend or outside rush hour, check that departure in DART's trip planner before you leave the house. Shiloh Road is the end of the line, so the question doesn't come up there.

Shiloh Road is also planned as the starting point of the Cotton Belt Regional Trail. The North Central Texas Council of Governments reports that Phase 2 construction from Addison to Plano began in mid-2025 and is expected to finish by 2027. For now, treat it as a trail under construction.

From the platform to your gate

Hourly trains leave less slack at the station, so the airport end of the trip needs to go smoothly. DFW Terminal B Station feeds into a lower-level walkway near Entry B43, according to DART's DFW guide. What you do after that depends on your airline and your bags:

1. Flying American Airlines: go through security at B43, then take Skylink to your terminal if your flight leaves from somewhere other than B.
2. Carry-on only, any airline: you can also go through security at Terminal B and take Skylink to your terminal.
3. Checking bags on another airline: take the free Terminal Link shuttle outside security to your airline's terminal, check in there, and then go through security.
4. Coming back through baggage claim: baggage claim is outside the secure area, so from there you'll need Terminal Link rather than Skylink to get back to Terminal B and the train.

DFW says Skylink connects all five terminals inside security, runs 24 hours, and comes every two minutes. A ride averages five minutes and takes up to nine between the farthest terminals. If you can stay inside security, the train-to-terminal handoff takes only a few minutes. If you have to leave security, plan extra time for the shuttle.

The trip home is the tighter one. You land, get your bags, and ride back to Terminal B, where the next train to Plano may be most of an hour away on a weekend. Open DART's weekend schedule from DFW Terminal B before you fly so you know the departure times when you land.

Parking and getting to the station

DART says parking at its park-and-ride lots is free. It also says overnight and long-term parking is at the rider's own risk, and DART takes no responsibility for vehicles left overnight. If you're gone four days over Thanksgiving, your car stays in a station lot that whole time.

Plano got another way to reach the stations two weeks before the schedule change. Starting October 5, DART expanded Plano's GoLink on-demand zones. It added a new Southwest Plano zone and extended several existing zones to reach the 12th Street Station, the Silver Line, Downtown Plano Station, Parker Road Station, Collin College's Plano Campus, and the Jack Hatchell Transit Center. The DART announcement also says the Plano Zone-to-Zone Pilot now drops the quarter-mile buffer restrictions between service areas. Zones listed include Far North Plano and Legacy West. A GoLink ride to 12th Street avoids the parking question entirely. Time your pickup to the train you've chosen.

DART's published fares include a $3 local three-hour pass, a $6 local day pass, and a $9 regional day pass. Check which one covers your trip when you buy.

Why this is a long-term line, not a trial run

Plano had called an election for May 2026 on whether to leave DART. On February 23, the City Council voted unanimously to cancel it, Community Impact reported. The council approved a new interlocal agreement that returns about $61 million to Plano over six years for local transportation projects. According to the same report, the agreement runs through September 30, 2031. The Texas Tribune reported that Plano agreed not to pursue legislative efforts to reduce DART's one-cent sales-tax authority while the agreement is in place. Mayor John Muns told Community Impact, "Our expectations in the next six years are high, but we look forward to working with the agency in this renewed partnership to better serve the mobility needs of Plano."

Ridership is early but steady. DART counted more than 15,000 trips on opening weekend, when rides were free. After that, December 2025 averaged nearly 1,600 riders per weekday, according to the Dallas Morning News. From January through March 2026, DART reported 130,700 Silver Line trips and the same 1,600 weekday average. DART's target is 10,000 daily riders by 2040. A DART representative told the Morning News that a new transit service takes about two years to reach its full ridership.

If you're comparing Plano neighborhoods and want to know how close a home is to Shiloh Road, 12th Street, or a GoLink zone, Jenn Laws can walk you through it street by street. Schedule a free consultation, and we'll map your commute and your airport route before you make any decisions.