Planning and construction

The Orange Line was planned as an extension to the DART Light Rail system at least as early as 2006, when DART's 2030 System Plan described a "Northwest Corridor" route with expected revenue service to both Love Field and DFW Airport by 2013.^[2]

On March 12, 2007, the City of Dallas officials and DART made an agreement to make Love Field Station a surface-level facility, concluding a long debate over whether or not to make it an underground station closer to the airport.^[3][4]

On December 5, 2007, the Dallas Morning News ran a story reporting that DART President Gary Thomas said a previous cost estimate of $988 million was too low. The new cost estimate for the 14-mile project was $1.8 – $1.9 billion, he said.^[5] The $900 million overrun in costs caused considerable outrage among political leaders^[6] in Irving, Texas, the city the line runs through on its way to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. The Irving leaders conducted an inquiry into the cost overruns.^[7] Texas State Representative Linda Harper Brown sent an official letter to Mr. Thomas also inquiring about the project's cost overruns.^[8]

In February 2010, DART officials warned that the first two phases of the Orange Line might be delayed due to TXDOT problems along State Highway 114, which the Orange Line route follows. Utility relocation and road construction was expected to delay access to portions of the construction area where the rail line and highway intersect. DART estimated that the delay could push the opening of the Las Colinas extension from December 2011 to August 2012; however, DART also advised that it was determined to keep the original schedule and minimize any delays.^[9][10]

In June 2010, DART placed new Orange Line construction on indefinite hold due to declining revenue. However, on September 15, 2010, the agency said that due to cost savings and federal funds, the plans for the line have been revived.^[11]

On December 13, 2011, DART awarded a contract to design and build the Orange Line extension from Belt Line Road to DFW Airport, valued at about $150 million, with construction to start in early 2012 and an opening date of August 18, 2014, ahead of schedule.^[12]

Opening and operation

The Orange Line started operation on December 6, 2010, with weekday peak service from the Parker Road station to Bachman station on stations shared with DART's Red and Green lines. The first Orange Line-exclusive stations opened with the extension to Irving Convention Center on July 30, 2012,^[13] and two more were added on December 3, 2012.^[14] The current northwestern terminus, located at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, opened on August 18, 2014.^[1] Hidden Ridge Station, which was planned with the rest of the Orange Line but deferred until further development justified its construction, opened to revenue service on April 12, 2021.^[15]

Extension and rerouting proposals

When the extension to the airport was created, the western terminus of the proposed Cotton Belt Corridor (now the Silver Line) was DFW Airport North. To enable transfers to the airport, a secondary extension would add DFW Airport North to the Orange Line between DFW Airport Terminal A and Belt Line. However, by the time the Corridor was approved in 2018, expansions to SH-114 and SH-121 rendered this extension infeasible. Instead, the Silver Line was extended south to DFW Airport Terminal B by sharing tracks with TEXRail.^[16]

The D2 Subway project would reroute the line's Downtown Dallas segment into a new subway tunnel between Victory and Deep Ellum with four new underground stations. The project was originally set for completion in 2028 but is currently on hiatus.

Daily service

Listed from Northeast to Northwest. Peak-hour only service is highlighted.

Station	Other lines	Opened	Notes
DFW Airport Terminal A		August 18, 2014	Terminus; transfer to TEXRail at adjacent DFW Airport/Terminal B station
Belt Line		December 3, 2012
Dallas College North Lake Campus
Hidden Ridge		April 12, 2021
Irving Convention Center		July 30, 2012
Las Colinas Urban Center
University of Dallas
Bachman		December 6, 2010	Westernmost transfer for Green Line
Burbank
Inwood/Love Field
Southwestern Medical District/ Parkland
Market Center
Victory		November 13, 2004	Transfer to Trinity Railway Express
West End		June 14, 1996	Westernmost transfer station for Red and Blue Lines
Akard
St. Paul			Transfer to M-Line Trolley (one block north)
Pearl/Arts District			Easternmost transfer for Green Line
Cityplace/Uptown		December 18, 2000	Transfer to M-Line Trolley
SMU/Mockingbird		January 10, 1997	Northernmost transfer for Blue Line
Lovers Lane
Park Lane
Walnut Hill		July 1, 2002
Forest Lane
LBJ/Central			Terminus for Orange Line outside peak hours
Spring Valley
Arapaho Center
Galatyn Park
CityLine/Bush		December 9, 2002	Formerly Bush Turnpike Station until March 14, 2016. Planned Silver Line transfer station
Downtown Plano
Parker Road			Terminus for Red (full-time) and Orange Lines (peak-hour)

Special event service

Listed from East to West

• Lawnview (Also served by the Green Line)
• Hatcher (Also served by the Green Line)
• MLK, Jr. (Also served by the Green Line)
• Fair Park (Also served by the Green Line)
• Baylor University Medical Center (Also served by the Green Line)
• Deep Ellum (Also served by the Green Line)

Deferred

In the original Northwest Corridor plan, two stations were proposed but deferred pending future development.^[17] To date, these stations have not been constructed.

• Loop 12 - Located at the intersection of Loop 12 and SH-114 near the former site of Texas Stadium.
• South Las Colinas - Located on Teleport Boulevard near SH-114 and a BNSF rail corridor.