Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex


The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is a conurbated metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas encompassing 11 counties. It is the economic and cultural hub of North Texas. Residents of the area also refer to it as DFW, or the Metroplex. The Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area's population was 7,573,136 according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 population estimates, making it the most populous metropolitan area in both Texas and the Southern United States, the fourth-largest in the U.S., and the tenth-largest in the Americas. In 2016, the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex ascended to the number one spot in the U.S. in year-over-year population growth.
The metropolitan region's economy is primarily based on banking, commerce, insurance, telecommunications, technology, energy, healthcare, medical research, transportation and logistics. As of 2020, Dallas–Fort Worth is home to 24 Fortune 500 companies, the third-largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the United States behind New York City and Chicago. In 2016, the metropolitan economy surpassed Houston to become the fourth-largest in the U.S. Currently the Metroplex boasts a GDP of just over $620.6 billion in 2020. In 2020, it was recognized as the 36th best metro area for STEM professionals.
The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex comprises the highest concentration of colleges and universities in Texas. The UT Southwestern Medical Center is home to six Nobel Laureates and was ranked No. 1 in the world among healthcare institutions in biomedical sciences. DFW is also the second most popular metropolis for megachurches in Texas, ranked the largest Christian metropolitan statistical area in the U.S., and has one of the largest LGBT communities in Texas since 2005.

Etymology

A portmanteau of metropolis and complex, the term metroplex is credited to Harve Chapman, an executive vice president with Dallas-based Tracy-Locke which was one of three advertising agencies that worked with the North Texas Commission on strategies to market the region. The NTC copyrighted the term "Southwest Metroplex" in 1972 as a replacement for the previously-ubiquitous "North Texas", which studies had shown lacked identifiability outside the state. In fact, only 38 percent of a survey group identified Dallas and Fort Worth as part of "North Texas", with the Texas Panhandle also a perceived correct answer, being the northernmost region of Texas.

Geography

The United States Census Bureau determined the Metroplex encompasses of total area; is land, and is covered by water. The conurbated metropolitan area is larger in area than the U.S. states of Rhode Island and Connecticut combined, and larger than New Jersey.
The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex overlooks mostly prairie land with a few rolling hills dotted by man-made lakes cut by streams, creeks and rivers surrounded by forested land. The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex is situated in the Texas blackland prairies region, so named for its fertile black soil found especially in the rural areas of Collin, Dallas, Ellis, Hunt, Kaufman, and Rockwall counties.
Many areas of Denton, Johnson, Parker, Tarrant, and Wise counties are located in the Fort Worth region of North Texas, which has less fertile and more rocky soil than that of the Texas blackland prairie; most of the rural land on the Fort Worth Prairie is ranch land. A large onshore natural gas field, the Barnett Shale, lies underneath this area; Denton, Tarrant and Wise counties feature many natural gas wells. Continuing land use change results in scattered crop fields surrounded by residential or commercial development. South of Dallas and Fort Worth is a line of rugged hills that goes north to south about that looks similar to the Texas Hill Country to the south.

Metropolitan divisions and counties

The Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metroplex is formed by a combination of two separate metropolitan statistical divisions. The Dallas–Plano–Irving MDA and Fort Worth–Arlington–Grapevine MDA come together to form one full metropolitan area or conurbation.

Dallas–Plano–Irving metropolitan division

The following are cities and towns categorized based on the latest population estimates from the North Central Texas Council of Governments. No population estimates are released for census-designated places, which are marked with an asterisk. These places are categorized based on their 2010 census population.

Places with more than 100,000 inhabitants

Places designated "principal cities" by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget are italicized.
1,000,000+
500,000–999,999
200,000–499,999
100,000–199,999
County2017 Estimate2010 CensusChangeAreaDensity
Collin County--
Dallas County--
Denton County--
Ellis County--
Hood County--
Hunt County--
Johnson County--
Kaufman County--
Parker County--
Rockwall County--
Somervell County--
Tarrant County--
Wise County--
Total--

At the 2010 census, there were 6,371,773 people. The racial makeup of DFW was 50.2% White, 15.4% African American, 0.6% Native American, 5.9% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 10.0% from other races, and 2.4% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 27.5% of the population.
The median income for a household in the MSA was $48,062, and the median income for a family was $55,263. Males had a median income of $39,581 versus $27,446 for females. The per capita income for the Metroplex was $21,839.
In 2017, the metropolitan population increased to 7,539,711. In 2019, the metropolitan statistical area had an estimated 7,573,136 residents. According to information gathered from the North Texas Commission, the Metroplex's racial makeup was 46% non-Hispanic white, 15% Black or African American, 7% Asian American, and 3% from other races in 2017. Hispanics and Latinos of any race made up 29% of the metropolitan population. From 2010 to 2017, Hispanics and Latinos increased an estimated 38.9% followed by Blacks and African Americans. In 2015, an estimated 101,588 non-citizen immigrants moved to the Metroplex. 44.1% were from Latin America, 35.8% Asia, 7.1% Europe, and 13.1% Africa. In 2010, 77,702 foreign nations immigrated. 50.6% came from Latin America, 33.0% from Asia, 7.3% Europe, and 9.1% Africa.
The median household income in Dallas–Fort Worth was higher than the state average in 2017, and its unemployment and poverty rate was lower. The median income for males was $51,498 and $44,207 for females.
The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex's religious demographic are predominantly Christian and the largest metro area that identify with the religion in the United States. Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, and Catholic churches are prominent in many cities and towns in the metropolitan region. The Methodist and Baptist communities anchor two of the area's major private universities. Non-Christian faiths including Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and contemporary paganism collectively form a little over 4% of the religious population.

Combined statistical area

The Dallas–Fort Worth, TX–OK combined statistical area is made up of 20 counties in North Central Texas and one county in South Central Oklahoma. The statistical area includes two metropolitan areas and seven micropolitan areas. The CSA definition encompasses of area, of which is land and is water. The population density was 485 people per square mile according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs)

At the census of 2000, there were 5,487,956 people, 2,006,665 households, and 1,392,540 families residing within the CSA. The racial makeup of the CSA was 70.41% white, 13.34% African American, 0.59% Native American, 3.58% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 9.62% from other races, and 2.39% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 20.83% of the population. The median income for a household in the CSA was $43,836, and the median income for a family was $50,898. Males had a median income of $37,002 versus $25,553 for females. The per capita income for the CSA was $20,460.
At the 2010 census, the DFW CSA had a population of 6,817,483. In 2018 it had an estimated 7,994,963 residents. The American Community Survey determined 18% of the population was foreign-born. The median household income was $67,589 and the per capita income was $34,455. An estimated 11.5% lived below the poverty line. The median age of the DFW CSA was 35.3.

Economy

The cities of Dallas and Fort Worth are the two central cities of the Metroplex, with Arlington being a third economically important city; it is a center for sporting events, tourism and manufacturing. Most other incorporated cities in the Metroplex are "bedroom communities" serving largely as residential and small-business centers, though there are several key employers in these regions. Due to the large number of smaller, less well-known cities, metroplex residents commonly divide the region roughly in half along Texas Interstate 35, which runs north–south, splitting into two 'branches' through the Metroplex. They refer to places as being on the "Dallas side" or the "Fort Worth side", or in "the Arlington area", which is almost directly south of the airport. It is nominally between the two major east–west interstates in the region.
Business management and operations play a central role in the area's economy. Dallas and its suburbs have the third-largest concentration of corporate headquarters in the United States. Moreover, it is the only metro area in the country home to three of the top-ten largest Fortune 500 companies by revenue. The area continues to draw corporate relocation from across the nation, and especially from California. From late 2018 to early 2019, both McKesson and Charles Schwab announced they would be relocating from San Francisco to the DFW area. Later in 2019, San Francisco-based Uber announced a massive corporate expansion just east of downtown Dallas. The trend of major corporate moves and expansions has influenced the booming DFW construction industry, which ranks first nationally in new apartment development as of 2019.
Banking and finance play a key role in the area's economy. DFW recently surpassed Chicago to become the second-largest financial services hub in the nation, eclipsed only by New York. Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Liberty Mutual, Goldman Sachs, State Farm, TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwab, and Fidelity Investments maintain significant operations in the area. The Metroplex also contains the largest Information Technology industry base in the state. This area has a large number of corporate IT projects and the presence of numerous electronics, computing and telecommunication firms such as Microsoft, Texas Instruments, HP Enterprise Services, Dell Services, Samsung, Nokia, Cisco, Fujitsu, i2, Frontier, Alcatel, Ericsson, CA, Google, and Verizon. AT&T, the largest telecommunications company in the world, is headquartered at the Whitacre Tower in downtown Dallas. ExxonMobil and McKesson, respectively the 2nd and 7th largest Fortune 500 companies by revenue, are headquartered in Irving, Texas. Fluor, the largest engineering & construction company in the Fortune 500, is also headquartered in Irving. In October 2016, Jacobs Engineering, a Fortune 500 company and one of the world's largest engineering companies, relocated from Pasadena, California to Dallas. Toyota USA, in 2016, relocated its corporate headquarters to Plano, Texas. Southwest Airlines is headquartered in Dallas. The airline has more than 53,000 employees as of October 2016 and operates more than 3,900 departures a day during peak travel season.
On the other side of the Metroplex, the Texas farming and ranching industry is based in Fort Worth, though the area's economy is diverse. American Airlines, the largest airline in the world, recently completed their new $350M corporate HQ complex in Fort Worth. American Airlines is the largest employer in the Metroplex. Several major defense manufacturers, including Lockheed Martin, Bell Helicopter Textron, and Raytheon, maintain significant operations in the Metroplex, primarily on the "Fort Worth side." They are concentrated along State Highway 170 near I-35W, commonly called the "Alliance Corridor" due to its proximity to the Fort Worth Alliance regional airport.
Changes in house prices for the Metroplex are publicly tracked on a regular basis using the Case–Shiller index; the statistic is published by Standard & Poor's and is also a component of S&P's 20-city composite index of the value of the U.S. residential real estate market.

Sports

The Metroplex is one of the 13 U.S. metropolitan areas that has a team in each of the four major professional sports leagues. Major professional sports first came to the area in 1952, when the Dallas Texans competed in the National Football League for one season. In 1960, major professional sports returned when The Dallas Cowboys began competing in the National Football League and the Dallas Texans began competing in the American Football League. The Dallas Texans later relocated to Kansas City and became the Chiefs. In 1972, Major League Baseball's Washington Senators moved to Arlington to become the Texas Rangers, named after the statewide law enforcement agency. The National Basketball Association expanded into North Texas in 1980 when the Dallas Mavericks were added to the league. The fourth sport was added in 1993 when the Minnesota North Stars of the National Hockey League moved to Dallas, becoming the Dallas Stars.
The Major League Soccer team FC Dallas is based in Frisco, and the Dallas Wings of the WNBA play in Arlington. The area is also home to many minor-league professional teams, and four colleges that compete in NCAA Division I athletics. Two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races are hosted annually at Texas Motor Speedway, the Duck Commander 500 and the AAA Texas 500. The metroplex has hosted many premiere sports events on both an annual and one-time basis.

Major professional sports teams

^- Indicates year team relocated to the area

Other notable professional and amateur teams

^- Indicates year team relocated to the area

Division I college athletics

The headquarters for both the Big 12 and Conference USA are located in Irving, and the Southland Conference headquarters are in Frisco.

Sports events hosted

Note: Venues are listed with their current names, not necessarily those in use when an event took place.
EventSportYearVenue
Red River RivalryCollege Football1912–presentCotton Bowl
Battle for the Iron SkilletCollege Football1915–presentCotton Bowl, Amon G. Carter Stadium, Ownby Stadium, Texas Stadium, Ford Stadium
Fort Worth ClassicCollege Football1921Panther Park
Dixie ClassicCollege Football1922, 1925, 1934Fair Park Stadium
State Fair ClassicCollege Football1925–presentCotton Bowl
PGA ChampionshipGolf1927,
1963		Cedarcrest Golf Course, Dallas Athletic Club
AT&T Cotton Bowl ClassicCollege Football1937–presentCotton Bowl, AT&T Stadium
U.S. OpenGolf1941Colonial Country Club
Byron Nelson Golf ClassicGolf1944–presentMultiple courses in Dallas
Colonial National InvitationalGolf1946–presentColonial Country Club
Pro BowlFootball1973Texas Stadium
The Players ChampionshipGolf1975Colonial Country Club
Dallas Grand PrixAuto Racing1984–1996Fair Park, Addison, Reunion Arena
NBA All-Star GameBasketball1986, 2010Reunion Arena, AT&T Stadium
NCAA Men's Final FourBasketball1986, 2014Reunion Arena, AT&T Stadium
NCAA Women's Final FourBasketball2017American Airlines Center
U.S. Women's OpenGolf1991Colonial Country Club
FIFA World Cup PreliminariesSoccer1994Cotton Bowl
Major League Baseball All-Star GameBaseball1995Globe Life Park in Arlington
Duck Commander 500Auto Racing1997–presentTexas Motor Speedway
Bombardier Learjet 550Auto Racing1997–presentTexas Motor Speedway
Big 12 Championship GameCollege Football2001, 2009, 2010, 2017–presentTexas Stadium, AT&T Stadium
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces BowlCollege Football2003–presentAmon G. Carter Stadium
Frisco BowlCollege Football2017–presentToyota Stadium
Breeders' CupHorse Racing2004Lone Star Park
AAA Texas 500Auto Racing2005–presentTexas Motor Speedway
MLS CupSoccer2005, 2006Toyota Stadium
NHL All-Star GameHockey2007American Airlines Center
CONCACAF Gold CupSoccer2009, 2011, 2013, 2015AT&T Stadium, Toyota Stadium
Cowboys ClassicCollege Football2009–presentAT&T Stadium
Southwest ClassicCollege Football2009–2011AT&T Stadium
First Responder BowlCollege Football2010–presentCotton Bowl
Manny Pacquiao vs. Antonio MargaritoProfessional BoxingNovember 13, 2010AT&T Stadium
NCAA Division I Football ChampionshipCollege Football2011–2014Toyota Stadium
Super Bowl XLVFootball2011AT&T Stadium
Heart of Dallas ClassicCollege Football2013Cotton Bowl
College Football Playoff National ChampionshipCollege Football2015AT&T Stadium
WrestleMania 32Wrestling2016AT&T Stadium
NFL DraftFootball2018AT&T Stadium
NHL Entry DraftHockey2018American Airlines Center
NHL Bridgestone winter ClassicHockey2020Cotton Bowl

Education

Notable colleges and universities

SchoolEnrollmentLocationMascotAthletic Affiliation

Southern Methodist University		11,643University ParkMustangsNCAA Division I FBS

Texas Christian University		10,394Fort WorthHorned FrogsNCAA Division I FBS

Dallas Baptist University		5,445DallasPatriotsNCAA Division II

Non–Football, compete in the Missouri Valley Conference at the Division I level for baseball

Texas Wesleyan University		3,378Fort WorthRamsNAIA

University of Dallas		2,387IrvingNCAA Division III

Non–Football, compete in Texas Rugby Union at the Division II level for Rugby

Southwestern Assemblies of God University		2,012WaxahachieLionsNAIA NCCAA

Paul Quinn College		600DallasTigersNAIA

Non–Football

Politics

Since the late 20th century and the realignment of party affiliations, conservatives have shifted to the Republican Party, and its national candidates have won in the Dallas–Fort Worth area, including in presidential elections. Democratic voters dominate a majority of areas in the large cities of Dallas, Fort Worth, Grand Prairie, and Arlington. Republicans dominate North Dallas, western Fort Worth and the rest of Tarrant County, most suburbs, and the rural areas of the Metroplex.

Media

The cities of Dallas and Fort Worth have their own newspapers, The Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, respectively. Historically, the two papers had readership primarily in their own counties. As the two cities' suburbs have grown together in recent years, many sites sell both papers. This pattern of crossover has been repeated in other print media, radio, and television. Since the 1970s all of the television stations and most of the FM radio stations have chosen to transmit from Cedar Hill so as to serve the entire market, and are programmed likewise. There has been a rise in "80–90 move-ins", whereby stations have been moved from distant markets, in some cases as far away as Oklahoma, and relicensed to anonymous small towns in the Metroplex to serve as additional DFW stations. According to RadioTime, the market has 38 AM stations, 58 FM stations, and 18 full-power television stations. Dallas–Fort Worth is the fifth-largest television market in the United States, behind only New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia.
Two metroplex AM radio stations, 820 WBAP and 1080 KRLD, are 50,000-watt stations with coverage of much of the North American continent and beyond during nighttime hours.
The South Asian population has increased considerably in the DFW metroplex. They have the FM 104.9 radio channel and 700 AM radio. Recently Sony TV, a subsidiary of Sony TV Asia, launched its FTA channel on 44.2 station in DFW. It was one of the two locations they chose in USA; the other being NYC, where there is also a large South Asian demographic.

TV stations

The following are full-powered stations serving the Dallas–Fort Worth television market. Network owned-and-operated stations are highlighted in bold.
ChannelCall Sign
Primary Network AffiliationSubchannelCity of LicenseOwner
2.1KDTNDaystar-Denton, TXWord of God Fellowship
4.1KDFW
'		Fox-DallasFox Television Stations
5.1KXAS-TV
'		NBC5.2 Cozi TVFort WorthNBCUniversal Owned Television Stations
8.1WFAA
'		ABC8.2 AccuWx
8.3 Justice Network
8.4 Quest		DallasTegna Media
11.1KTVT
'		CBS11.2 DecadesFort WorthCBS Corporation
13.1KERA-TV
'		PBS13.2 KERA Kids
13.3 Create		DallasNorth Texas Public Broadcasting
18.1KPFW-LDHope Channel broadcasting-DallasIglesia JesuCristo es mi Refugion, Inc.
20.1KBOP-LDInfomercial20.2 Infomercial
20.3 3ABN
20.4 3ABN		DallasRandolph W. Weigner
21.1 KTXA
'		Independent21.2 MeTVFort WorthCBS Corporation
22KNAV-LPHot TV NetworkNone
DeSoto, TXTuck Properties
23.1KUVN-DT
'		Univision23.2 Bounce TV
23.3 Escape
23.4 LAFF		Garland, TXUnivision Communications
25.1K25FW-DHSN-Corsicana, TXVentana Television, Inc.
26.1KODF-LD
'		Guide US TV26.2 Soul of the South TV
26.3 Almavision
26.4 HSN2		Britton, TXMako Communications, LLC
27.1KDFI
'		MyNetworkTV27.2 Movies!
27.3 Buzzr
27.4 Heroes and Icons
27.5 Light TV		DallasFox Television Stations
28.1KHPK-LDSonLife28.2 Guide US TV
28.3 Shop LC
28.4 Soul of the South TV		DeSoto, TXMako Communications, LLC
29.1KMPX
'		Estrella TV29.2 Inmigrante TVDecatur, TXLiberman Broadcasting
31.1K31GL-DSonLife31.2 Hot TV Network
31.3 Hot TV Network
31.4 RTV		DeSoto, TXMako Communications, LLC
33.1KDAF
'		The CW33.2 Antenna TV
33.3 This TV
33.4 Charge		DallasNexstar Media Group
34.1KJJM-LD
'		HSN34.2 Shop LC
34.3 HSN2
34.4 Jewelry TV
34.5 Infomercial		Dallas & Mesquite, TXMako Communications, LLC
38.1KVFW-LD
'		Infomercial38.3 RTN
38.4 Rev'n		Fort WorthCMMB America
39.1KXTX-TV
'		Telemundo39.2 TeleXitosDallasNBCUniversal
44.1KLEG-CD
'		44.3 Diya TV - America's first South Asian broadcast television network
44.4 SAB TV 		DallasDilip Viswanath
46.1KUVN-CD
'		UnivisionNone
Garland, TXUnivision Communications
47.1KTXD-TV
'		Independent47.2 Comet
47.3 Charge
47.4 TBD
47.5 SonLife		Greenville, TXLondon Broadcasting Company
49.1KSTR-DT
'		UniMás49.2 GetTV
49.3 Grit		Irving, TXUnivision Communications
51.1KHFD-LDThe Walk TV51.2 Cornerstone Television
51.4 Global Christian Network		Cedar Hill, TXRandall & Adrienne Weiss
52.1KFWDSonLife52.3 QVC Plus
52.4 Evine		Fort WorthNRJ Holdings LLC
55.1KAZD
'		Azteca América55.2 MBC America
55.3 SBTN
55.4 QVC
55.5 VietFace TV
55.6 Biz Television
55.7 Spanish-language infomercials		Lake Dallas, TXNorthstar Media, LLC
58.1KDTX-TVTBN58.2 Hillsong Channel
58.3 JUCE TV
58.4 Enlace
58.5 Smile		DallasTrinity Broadcasting Network
68.1KPXD-TV
'		Ion Television68.2 qubo
68.3 Ion Life
68.4 Ion Shop
68.5 QVC
68.6 HSN		Arlington, TXIon Media Networks

Transportation

The Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, located between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, is the largest and busiest airport in the state of Texas. At of total land area, DFW is also the second-largest airport in the country and the sixth-largest in the world. It is the third-busiest airport in the world in terms of aircraft movements and the world's seventh-busiest by passenger traffic, transporting 62.9 million passengers in FY 2014. Based in Fort Worth, American Airlines' headquarters are adjacent to DFW. Recently having regained the title as the largest airline in the world in terms of both passengers transported and fleet size, American is a predominant leader in domestic routes and operations.
Love Field Airport is located in northwest Dallas. Based in Dallas, Southwest Airlines is headquartered next to Love Field.

The Dallas–Fort Worth area has thousands of lane-miles of freeways and interstates. The Metroplex has the second-largest number of freeway-miles per capita in the nation, behind only the Kansas City metropolitan area. As in most major metropolitan areas in Texas, most interstates and freeways have access or frontage roads where most of the businesses are located; these access roads have slip ramps allowing traffic to transition between the freeway and access road. North–south interstates include I-35 and I-45. East–west routes include I-30 and I-20. I-35 splits into I-35E and I-35W from Denton to Hillsboro: I-35W goes through Fort Worth while I-35E goes through Dallas. I-30 connects Dallas and Fort Worth, and I-45 connects Dallas to Houston. The "multiple-of-5" numbers used for the interstate designations are notable, as these numbers were designed to be used for major multi-state arteries of the U.S. Interstate Highway System. The North Texas region is the terminus for two of them, and I-45 is located only within Texas.
HOV lanes exist along I-35E, I-30, I-635, US 67, and US 75. I-20 bypasses both Dallas and Fort Worth to the south while its loop, I-820, goes around Fort Worth. I-635 splits to the north of I-20 and loops around east and north Dallas, ending at SH 121 north of DFW Airport. I-35E, Loop 12, and Spur 408 ultimately connect to I-20 southwest of Dallas, completing the west bypass loop around Dallas. A large number of construction projects are planned or are already underway in the region to alleviate congestion. Due largely to funding issues, many of the new projects involve building new tollways or adding tolled express lanes to existing highways, which are managed by the North Texas Tollway Authority. It was originally established to manage the Dallas North Tollway and oversees several other toll projects in the area.

Public transit

Public transit options continue to expand significantly throughout the Metroplex. However, it is limited in several outlying and rural suburbs. Dallas County and portions of Collin and Rockwall counties have bus service and light rail operated by Dallas Area Rapid Transit, covering thirteen member cities. DART's rail network currently sprawls for 93 miles throughout the area. The Red Line extends north to Plano and southwest to Westmoreland Road. The Blue Line reaches from Rowlett in the northeast to the University of North Texas at Dallas campus near I-20 in the south. The 28-mile Green Line, which opened in December 2010, connects Carrollton in the northwest through Downtown Dallas to Pleasant Grove in the southeast. The Orange Line, which completed expansion in 2014, parallels the Red Line from Plano to Downtown Dallas and the Green Line from Downtown Dallas to Northwest Hwy before extending through the Las Colinas area of Irving to reach DFW International Airport.
Denton County has bus service limited to Denton, Highland Village, and Lewisville provided by the Denton County Transportation Authority. The A-train, a diesel commuter rail line, parallels I-35E to connect Denton, Highland Village, Lewisville, and Carrollton. Several smaller towns along this line, Corinth, Shady Shores, and Lake Dallas, voted to abstain from DCTA and do not have stations. There is an across-the-platform transfer in Carrollton to the DART Green Line. A-Train service began June 20, 2011.
Tarrant County has bus services operated by Trinity Metro, available only in Fort Worth. It additionally operates TEXRail commuter rail, which serves to connect downtown Fort Worth with DFW Airport and the DART Orange Line. The diesel commuter train that serves Fort Worth and its eastern suburbs is operated as the Trinity Railway Express; it connects downtown Fort Worth to downtown Dallas, where it links to the DART light rail system. A station near its midpoint, Centerport, also serves DFW Airport via a free airport shuttle bus. The TRE is jointly owned by FWTA and DART. Amtrak serves two stations in the Metroplex - Dallas Union Station and Fort Worth Central Station. Both are served by the Texas Eagle route, which operates daily between Chicago and San Antonio, though only the latter station is served by the Fort Worth-Oklahoma City Heartland Flyer.
As of 2016 the Taiwanese airline EVA Air operates a shuttle bus service from George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston to Richardson, so that Dallas-based customers may fly on its services to and from Houston.