Grapevine's Main Street Station is the project North Texas transit leaders want to copy.

At the 2026 Commuter Rail Summit on Tuesday, Nov. 10, Trinity Metro President and CEO Rich Andreski held up Grapevine's rail station development as a successful transit-oriented project his agency hopes to duplicate elsewhere, the Fort Worth Report reported. Trinity Metro invested $20 million in the venture, which Andreski said "was the right decision at the time."

The summit, held at The Worthington Renaissance Fort Worth Hotel, brought together leaders of the region's three passenger rail systems: Trinity Metro, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA). Agency leaders said rail connections are improving access to jobs, healthcare and education while generating sales tax revenue to fund expansion.

A station that stands out

Grapevine Main Street Station is one of nine stops along TEXRail's 27.2-mile route connecting downtown Fort Worth to DFW International Airport. The station combines a train stop with Hotel Vin and Harvest Hall, a European-style food hall.

Grapevine City Manager Bruno Rumbelow has said city leaders paired the vision of an upscale station with a long-held goal of placing a hotel in the Historic District, according to a Grapevine economic development account of the project's history.

"Really, all you need for a commuter rail is a ticket machine, a parking lot, and a way — safely — for them to get on the train, right?" Rumbelow said, according to that account. "We wanted a whole lot more than that."

The station sometimes tops even DFW Airport in total riders getting off the train, according to the Grapevine economic development office. Trinity Metro board chair Jeff Davis has called the station a model, saying the agency uses "North Richland Hills and Grapevine as an example of what it can do for a community."

The development has also spurred private investment nearby. Greg Gifford, managing general partner of NuCiti Capital Partners, said the city's investment in the station area made his Grapevine Brownstones project viable. The 28 luxury townhomes were the first private project to adopt a special design standard for the area, and most presold before construction finished.

TEXRail keeps growing

Trinity Metro broke ground Oct. 29 on a $270 million, 2.1-mile TEXRail extension into Fort Worth's Near Southside/Medical District area. Officials said the extension will connect to 50,000 jobs in south Fort Worth when completed in mid-2030.

TEXRail saw a 15.5% jump in ridership in fiscal year 2026 compared to the prior year, topping one million riders for the first time. Brad Beason, Trinity Metro's manager of rail operations, told the agency's board the line finished the year with 1,006,835 rides and 98.84% on-time performance, according to Fort Worth Report coverage of the October board meeting.

Andreski told the Fort Worth City Council earlier this year that a study showed property values near Grapevine's station increased at twice the citywide average rate, The Texan reported. He said the same was true for sales tax revenue at businesses close to the station.

Regional ambitions

Michael Morris, North Texas transportation director for the Regional Transportation Council, told summit attendees that rail expansion is needed as the region's population is expected to reach 12.5 million by 2050. He said current rail entities could eventually operate as a single system.

"We are starting the institutional process with our partners," Morris said, to investigate how existing rail systems can become the backbone of a regional network, "with the hope of having high-speed rail in the center of the region, connecting downtown Fort Worth, Arlington, Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio."

DART's new CEO, Nathaniel "Nat" Ford, said the agency has developed 37 transit-oriented projects providing a total economic benefit of $1.93 billion. DART launched the 26-mile Silver Line from Plano to DFW Airport in October 2025. Ford faces allegations of financial mismanagement at his previous transit job in Florida, according to the Fort Worth Report.

Trinity Metro is now working with Fort Worth to advance zoning changes that could spur development near other stations along the line.