Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) will celebrate our 40th Anniversary this year. Over the last 40 years, we have expanded our system to include 93 miles of light rail with 65 stations, nearly 100 bus routes with 14 transit facilities and nearly 7,000 bus stops, two regional rail systems (one in operation and one opening by 2026), with 20 combined stations, a streetcar system, micro transit and eight support facilities in a 700 square mile, 13-city service area. Many of the critical elements that were part of the agency’s initial starter systems are aging, have reached the end of their useful life, or need upgrading and modernizing to address changing technologies. This is especially true for DART’s 20-mile light rail transit (LRT) starter system and the initial fleet of 95 light rail vehicles (LRV).

Considering the age and potential obsolescence of some of our original starter system elements and the need to modernize fleet and critical infrastructure to better align with agency strategic goals and changing customer needs, DART is undertaking a comprehensive System Modernization Program intended to enhance safety, security, reliability, and the customer experience across all modes and throughout our service area.  The core system program elements include vehicles, stations, operating facilities, signal system, and overall system resiliency.

DART will be seeking a Systems Modernization Program Management Consultant to support the development and implementation of the system program elements and the integration of those elements into the legacy system.  Maximizing the customer experience and minimizing impacts of the program to active operations will be central to design, implementation and integration of all program elements. At a minimum, the consultant will be asked to provide conceptual design and development support, project management services, customer and community engagement support, procurement support, project controls, design oversight, construction management, oversight of testing and commissioning, system integration services, and value engineering services. As more definition is provided to the program elements, additional services and technical support may be requested. Final design and construction services will be procured separately.

To present this exciting opportunity to the consulting community, an industry open house will be held on February 22, 2023 Interested parties are encouraged to send a Statement of Interest to [email protected]