Grapevine officials break ground on TEX Rail, a 27-mile commuter rail line project. Grapevine officials break ground on TEX Rail, a 27-mile commuter rail line project.[/caption]

On Wednesday, ground broke on TEX Rail, a 27-mile commuter rail project developed by the Fort Worth Transportation Authority.

Grapevine officials and other dignitaries met at the future downtown Grapevine TEX Rail station, located at 705 S. Main St., and from there traveled by train to North Richland Hills and downtown Fort Worth for the remainder of the groundbreaking ceremonies.

Grapevine Mayor William D. Tate spoke about the benefits of the rail at the groundbreaking ceremony.

"It will reduce the need to build more highways, which we don't have the room or the money to do that," he said. "Less roads means less cars, which means less impact on the air quality. It will also increase productivity for those riding the rail because they will be able to work using their computers, using their cell phones, read a book or even take a selfie along the way."

Tate said the downtown station will feature a boutique hotel above it as well as a parking garage. It will also include a plaza and observation deck tower.

The commuter rail, projected to open for operation in 2018, will extend from downtown Fort Worth, through northeast Tarrant County with train stops in North Richland Hills and Grapevine, and end at the northern entrance of the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Terminal B.

Sean Donohue, CEO of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, said DFW Airport is investing in more than $40 million to build the airport's rail station. He also said planning and design for the station has already begun.

"This is so important for the region, for the airport," he said. "I would also like to point out we have about 60,000 people that work at the DFW Airport and what we have seen with DART, and I would say what we will see with TEX Rail as well, is half of the traffic will be employees who are working at the airport. It creates a cost effective means for people to get to the airport either to work or to travel and we find that very important."

To ride the full rail length from the existing T&P Station in downtown Fort Worth to Terminal B in DFW Airport is estimated to take 55 minutes, at speeds up to 59 miles per hour. By 2035, the train is anticipated to run every 30 minutes during peak commute hours and about every 60 minutes outside morning and evening rush hours.

For more information on the rail line click here.