EDITOR’S NOTE: Multimedia editor Kevin Hahn has given up his car for two weeks and is relying on his bike, public transportation and car pooling. Hahn took a train to Dallas to shoot video of the Red River Rivalry game for The Daily.
This year “choo, choos” accompanied me on my trek to Dallas for the Red River Rivalry. That’s right, I took the train. It was all about the tracks this year.
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation and Amtrak offered a $40 special for a round trip ticket from Oklahoma City to downtown Dallas for OU-Texas weekend. And since I chose to abstain from driving my car for two weeks to see what life would be like without my fortress of steel, the train seemed like the perfect solution.
On paper that is.
I’ve never ridden a train, and I had no idea how good the public transportation in Dallas would be.
Would I be able to get to the game, or the friends house I was staying at? Would I end up having to rely on expensive taxis the weekend? Would the Dallas Area Rapid Transit be convenient and close?
No worries, I came prepared with a supply of maps of Dallas and the DART light rail.
I got on the train at 8:30 a.m. Thursday. It was much earlier than I wished but at least the train was on time.
While on the train, I met a pair of retired ladies that were very nice and had taken the train to Dallas before. Iola Caldwell and Lynda Webster, both retired and from Norman, said they have been coming to the OU-Texas game for more than 20 years and have taken the train for the last three years.
They swore to me it was simple trekking around Dallas. I hoped they were right as the train rolled past the race track in Purcell.
I would like to tell you that the train provided an amazing view of a breathtaking landscape, but it didn’t. It is the same view you get from I-35 just with no other cars to bother you.
Once I arrived at Union Station in Dallas, it was a simple transition to the DART light rail. And by simple, I mean the platform was 15 feet away. I rode the DART several miles to Plano, where my stop left me a half mile from my friend’s apartment.
The trip form Norman to Dallas took nine hours. It wasn’t the fastest ride to Dallas, but it was the easiest I’ve ever had.
The next morning, I made the trip from Plano to the fairgrounds in 40 minutes. I took the DART and then a bus to the Cotton Bowl stadium. That route was tough to beat compared to everyone I talked to who drove.
Saturday night we decided to go out. My friends insisted that I couldn’t ride in their car, so it was back to the train for our 25-minute trip to the West End.
I won’t go into details, but several hours and several bars later we were back.
We managed to hit the West End, Deep Ellum, and Lower Greenville by using a light rail and two buses. We never walked more than 300 feet the entire night.
Bottom line: I was impressed with the Dallas Area Rapid Transit.
And so were others.
I spoke with a ticket manager for Amtrak, and he said Amtrak was sold out for the weekend. He said on a regular weekend Amtrak carries 150 people, but the company brought 350 people to Dallas and back this weekend. He said Amtrak was able to more than double its number of passengers because it added more cars.
As I waited to board the train back to Norman on Sunday, the loading area seemed anti-climatic, but the throng of Texas fans waiting to board their train to Austin provided brief entertainment.
The sea of Longhorn signs and burnt orange clashing with crimson and cream made for a very crowded and very confrontational platform. After some name calling, their train arrived, and all was back to normal.
On the ride home, I ran into several students who shared similar experiences with me. Holly Roe, letters junior, who rode the train for the first time, said her group stayed downtown in a hotel and used the DART several times.
Jenny Stemm, pharmacy sophomore, said she had some scheduling problems but overall the trip was easy.
“It was kind of a hassle, but it was way better than Oklahoma, and it was a lot cheaper than a cab,” Stemm said.
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TheJR 3 years, 7 months ago
I stayed about 20 minutes out of downtown for a third of the price and double the hotel space (which was at a premium with 10 people in a room). Hopped on the DART after a 5 minute walk, and half an hour later I was in the same place as everyone else, and only paid $20 for my share of a two night stay. I love the DART.