Trinity Metro’s board of directors approved a 10-year contract extension for train service in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The gist

The contract will be part of the fiscal year 2025-26 operating budget and is nearly $200 million more than the first contract approved, which was $141.2 million, according to contract documents.

The contract with a 10-year option originally agreed to when an eight-year contract was signed with Herzog Transit Services Inc. Feb. 27, 2017.

The contract for operations and maintenance services is $324.3 million and not to exceed $456.6 million, with fixed rates and pricing that will be adjusted annually with a 3% cap, approved at the June 16 meeting, Trinity Metro documents state.


Herzog operates TEXRail and Trinity Railway Express, a railroad connecting downtown Fort Worth to downtown Dallas, according to the website.

The extension includes $224.3 million for operations and $99.9 million for fuel and allowance. The new deal does not encompass annual capital expenses, extra trains or long-term scheduling changes, documents state.

Items worth mentioning

Reed Lanham, Trinity Metro's vice president of rail, provided a rider update from May during the meeting.


TEXRail ridership is 579,917, up more than 65,000 compared to May 2024. All nine of the stops along TEXRail, from Fort Worth T&P to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, saw increases in May year-to-year.

DFW Airport Terminal B stop had the most riders in May with 21,300 people, a 12.6% increase compared to May 2024.

Three other stops had at least 9,000 riders in May, including the Grapevine/Main Street stop.

Four of TRE’s 10 stops featured increases in ridership in May 2025 compared to May 2024 and five stops had more than 10,000 riders. The Eddie Bernice Johnson Union Station stop in Dallas had the most ridership between both rails with 23,600 riders.


Overall, TRE has a year-to-date ridership of 886,442. That is a 156% increase compared to May 2022, according to data provided at the meeting.