Addison's Train to DFW Now Runs on a Clock Worth Memorizing

When does the next train to the airport leave Addison? Since October 19, the answer depends more than ever on the day and the hour. The DART Silver Line opened on October 25, 2025. Just before its first birthday, DART posted a new schedule. It says the line now runs fewer trips, especially in the evenings and on weekends, and that weekend trains will run less often for much of the day in both directions.

DART didn't say why it made the change. For anyone boarding at Addison Station, the practical effect is plain. In its second year, the train is a fixed timetable, and the trip goes best when you plan around the departure minute. The holidays add two more reasons to learn that minute. Thanksgiving Day and the Friday after it run on the thinner weekend schedules, and Addison's biggest December night takes place a short walk from the platform.

The weekday clock, by the minute

Addison Station is at 4925 Arapaho Road, next to Addison Transit Center. It sits inside the town's dining and entertainment district. On weekdays, westbound trains toward DFW Airport Terminal B run every 30 minutes in the morning and afternoon peaks. They run every 60 minutes at midday and after the evening rush.

The current weekday timetable shows Addison departures as follows:

Plan around the :46 departure. It runs every hour of the weekday service day. The trip to the airport takes about half an hour; the 5:46 a.m. train, for example, reaches Terminal B at 6:18. The last weekday train leaves Addison at 11:46 p.m. and arrives at Terminal B at 12:18 a.m. During the midday hours, a missed train means a full hour on the platform. That gap matters most when you're working backward from a boarding time.

Thanksgiving and the day after run on the weekend clock

The weekday table above won't apply on the two busiest travel days of the month. The timetable notes that on Thursday, November 26, the Silver Line runs its Sunday schedule. On Friday, November 27, it runs its Saturday schedule. The weekend schedules are where the October cuts went deepest. DART says weekend trains now run less often for much of the day in both directions.

Anyone flying out Thanksgiving morning, or on the Friday after, should check the weekend timetable in DART's schedule listings. The weekday times won't hold on those days. Holiday travelers should also plan the airport end of the trip. The Silver Line's DFW station is at Terminal B, near Gate B43. American Airlines passengers can enter security right there. Travelers on other airlines can take Skylink after security or Terminal Link before it to reach their terminal. That connection takes time, so build it into the margin before choosing a train.

Coming home lands at :59

The return trip is simpler to remember. On Saturdays and Sundays, trains leave DFW Airport Terminal B at 28 minutes past every hour, from 5:28 a.m. to 12:28 a.m., and arrive at Addison at :59. The first weekend train home reaches Addison at 5:59 a.m., and the last at 12:59 a.m.

Since the Sunday schedule also runs on Thanksgiving Day, the same pattern holds for anyone landing on the holiday itself. Someone who lands at 9:10 p.m. on a Saturday and clears the terminal by 9:40 has just missed the 9:28. The next train leaves at 10:28 and reaches Addison at 10:59. On the weekend schedule, the gap between a quick bag claim and a slow one can be an hour on the platform.

Fares and the car you leave behind

The Silver Line is part of DART's Local service. Current posted fares are $3 for a three-hour Local pass and $6 for a Local Day pass. A $9 Regional Day pass is also listed. A three-hour pass covers the roughly half-hour ride with room to spare. A day pass makes sense when the trip includes a stop along the way.

DART says parking at its park-and-ride facilities is free for riders, wherever they live. The same page says overnight or long-term parking is the customer's responsibility and that DART takes no responsibility for vehicles left overnight. For a four-day Thanksgiving trip, that is the whole policy. The space is free, and keeping an eye on the car is up to you. Many households will find a ride to the station the easier choice. A curbside drop-off at 4925 Arapaho also takes the parking question off the table.

The same timetable for nearby outings

The same departure minutes also work for shorter trips this season, starting with a festival one stop west and ending with a tree lighting beside the station.

Festival at the Switchyard, Saturday, November 7. Carrollton's 16th annual festival is free, with concerts, community performances, rides, games, food vendors and shopping. It runs from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. in Historic Downtown Carrollton at 1106 S. Broadway Street. The City of Carrollton recommends DART's Downtown Carrollton Station, which the Silver and Green lines serve. On the Silver Line, Downtown Carrollton is the next stop west of Addison. A weekday train covers that stretch in about eight minutes.

For festival day, DART has posted a special Saturday schedule that roughly doubles service for most of the day. From midmorning on, eastbound trains leave Downtown Carrollton at :20 and :50 past each hour and reach Addison nine minutes later, at :29 and :59. The last train leaves Carrollton at 12:50 a.m. and arrives in Addison at 12:59 a.m. After the 10 p.m. close, trains home leave every half hour, which is twice as often as a regular Saturday night.

Addison Aglow, Saturday, December 5. The town's season opens in Addison Circle Park, right around the corner from the station. According to Visit Addison, a 32-foot tree lights up at 6 p.m. Live entertainment follows, and the night ends with Addison's first holiday drone show at 8 p.m. The rest of December fills in around that night:

• December 1 to 31: Lightware Labs projects light onto the water tower, the Addison Performing Arts Centre and Town Hall.
• December 3 to 25: a mini light show plays on the Addison Circle Park stage every Thursday through Sunday night.
• December 1 to 24: children can write letters to Santa at the Java & Hopps pavilion on the northeast side of the park, free of charge.

Visit Addison's Addison Circle district directory lists the places around the park for dinner before the tree lighting or a coffee after it. They include Java and Hopps at 4970 Addison Circle, the bakery and café Dolce Paradiso at 5030 Addison Circle, The Lion & Crown at 5001 Addison Circle, Antonio's Ristorante at 4985 Addison Circle Drive, The Mucky Duck at 5064 Addison Circle Drive and Astoria Caffé at 15701 Quorum Drive. Guests flying in for the holidays can ride from Terminal B to the station and walk straight into the season. On a Saturday, the 4:28 p.m. train from DFW reaches Addison at 4:59, an hour before the tree lights.

For more ways to spend a weekend around the Circle, see our earlier look at how Addison's Saturdays come together.

What is planned next to the platform

The Town of Addison plans to build its next district around the station. In September 2025, the Town approved a $240 million agreement for Addison Junction with Dallas-based Quadrant Investment Properties. The 14-acre plan includes:

• a 155,550-square-foot mass-timber office building
• a 140-room boutique hotel
• 30,000 square feet of entertainment space
• a 12,000-square-foot event venue called The Hangar

According to the Dallas Morning News, the first entertainment and retail phase would include a Texas-themed beer garden called Van Buren's and a farmers market.

None of it is built yet. The Town approved zoning in February 2026 for a site next to Addison Circle Park, along Addison Road, Festival Way, Quorum Drive and Arapaho Road. It then approved a design-services agreement with Kimley-Horn, capped at $2,349,425. The Town's public infrastructure project page records design approval on May 14, 2026, and a public visioning workshop on June 10. It says the Town looks forward to construction in 2027. A March 2026 Town presentation estimates $20 million to $22 million to build the public infrastructure.

This holiday season, the Silver Line runs on its new timetable past a district that is still in design. The Town's public infrastructure work is set for 2027 construction. The Dallas Morning News expected the project to break ground in 2026, but no opening date for the hotel or the office building has been announced.

If someone in your family is weighing how the station and the coming Addison Junction district fit into a move within Addison, or out of it, I'm glad to talk it through over coffee near the Circle. Darla Chapman Ripley knows these streets and the station at their center. Let's Connect.