by Eric E. Garcia, Fort Worth Report
October 29, 2026

A beer-filled chat between two transportation leaders four years ago ultimately led to Fort Worth’s $270 million rail expansion.

Rich Andreski, president and CEO of Trinity Metro transit agency, said the idea for an 2.1-mile extension of the 27.2-mile TEXRail passenger rail line emerged from the casual conversation he had with North Texas transportation director Michael Morris. 

“Like many other transformational, regional projects, we would not be here without you and your team,” Andreski said of Morris and his team at a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday morning. 

City, federal and healthcare officials gathered at the future site of the Near Southside/Medical District Station next to Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center – Fort Worth for the rail expansion.

The line, which currently runs from downtown Fort Worth to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, will connect to 50,000 jobs in the Near Southside/Medical District when the extension is completed in mid 2030.

The station will be built on 1.76 acres at Luther Lane and Mistletoe Drive, thanks to a land donation by Dallas-based Baylor Scott & White Health hospital system. A 35-year ground lease grants Trinity Metro property rights for infrastructure access and improvements.

A separate passenger rail track will be built on a portion of the Fort Worth & Western Railroad Co.’s freight line. A $6.1 million deal with the railroad will allow Trinity Metro to build and operate the passenger rail service from the T&P Station downtown.

Trinity Metro officials released a rendering of the planned TEXRail Near Southside/Medical District Station. (Screenshot | Fort Worth Report)

Andreski, who commutes daily from northeast Tarrant County to downtown via TEXRail, said the rail extension, a partnership of several entities, will improve access to healthcare, education and employment thanks to strong regional leadership.

“By our own accounting, we found that every dollar invested in Trinity Metro returns $3.05 to our economy,” he said.

The TEXRail extension will provide a reliable commute that doesn’t depend on traffic or a parking spot, he said.

“For a patient without a car or a senior who no longer drives, it means getting to care on time and getting home with dignity,” Andreski said.

President and CEO of Trinity Metro Richard Andreski speaks before the TEXRail Near Southside/Medical District extension groundbreaking in Fort Worth on Oct. 29, 2026. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)

Mayor Mattie Parker said the relationship between Trinity Metro and city officials was strained when she entered office in 2021. The city then had a reputation for not investing in transportation but that has changed. 

Five years later, “we are lock-step together,” she said.

“There were more times than I can count along the way that we were worried that we could not make this project work,” Parker said. 

Parker credited the transit agency’s refusal to say no as one of the factors pushing to make the TEXRail project happen. She credited Morris for helping to secure funding.

She also credited U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, R-Willow Park, for helping obtain a $25 million U.S. Department of Transportation grant for the project.

Transportation innovation is now happening in Fort Worth, Parker said.

Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker speaks before the TEXRail Near Southside/Medical District extension groundbreaking in Fort Worth on Oct. 29, 2026. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)

“We understand how fast moving, how fast changing transportation mobility innovation is happening,” she said. “In fact, Fort Worth is home to the mobility innovation zone at Alliance. All of that innovation is happening right here in Fort Worth.”

Council member Elizabeth Beck said neighborhood groups in her district collaborated with Trinity Metro and other agencies on the project. She credited Denton County Judge Andy Eads, who serves with her on the Regional Transportation Council, for helping secure final federal funding for medical access and the eventual creation of “an academic superhighway.”

The rail extension “opens up Fort Worth to the world because this takes transit straight from DFW Airport right into the heart of our medical district,” she said. “This is the first stop of many.”

Officials said there are plans to eventually extend the passenger line south to TCU and farther along the Chisholm Trail Parkway to the Tarleton State University campus in southwest Fort Worth.

Williams described himself as a car guy for mass transit.

The extension, he said, will create jobs as people move to Fort Worth.

Charles Williams, president of Baylor Scott & White DFW – West Region, said the hospital is proud to be the site of the first TEXRail stop in the Medical District.

“Our hope is that this connection will make it easier for people to receive care, support someone they love or come to work caring for our community,” Williams said. 

Morris, who leads the Regional Transportation Council, said his decisions regarding transportation funding are forward-thinking. 

“I have to look 20 years into the future. I don’t see 9 million people, I see 12 million people,” he said, referring to the estimated future North Texas population. 

Gail Lyssy, regional Administrator for Federal Transit Administration Region 6, speaks before the TEXRail Near Southside/Medical District extension groundbreaking in Fort Worth on Oct. 29, 2026. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)

Gail Lyssy, Region 6 regional administrator for the Federal Transit Administration, was pleased that the federal agency supplied $499 million to launch TEXRail in 2019. Since that project came in under budget, she made sure federal dollars for transportation remained allocated for North Texas.

“Transit is at its best when it connects people directly to where their lives happen and this extension delivers exactly that, expanding opportunities to and from this vibrant neighborhood, not only to the region but to the world with a direct, one-seat ride to DFW Airport,” she said. 

She said TEXRail has already proven its value with almost 5 million riders since 2019. When this extension is completed, along with continued development along the TEXRail stations throughout the corridor, I anticipate Trinity Metro will be celebrating 10 million riders in no time,” she said.

Jeff Davis, Trinity Metro board of directors chairman, speaks before the TEXRail Near Southside/Medical District extension groundbreaking in Fort Worth on Oct. 29, 2026. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)

Jeff Davis, chairman of the Trinity Metro board of directors, lives in nearby Mistletoe Heights and credited former transit officials for their work on the project. 

The federal, regional and local entities that provided funding for the project include the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program; the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program; the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development program; the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act; and savings from the original TEXRail project. Additional support comes from the Regional Transportation Council.

Davis said Fort Worth can be the shining city on the hill through transportation projects.

“All great cities have great transit,” he said. “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Transit is the answer to everything.”

Eric E. Garcia is senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org.

Disclosure: Trinity Metro is a financial supporter of the Report. The agency’s chairman, Jeff Davis, serves on the Report’s business advisory council. At the Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.

This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. ""