| Richland Hills | |||||||||||
| Style: | Dallas Area Rapid Transit | ||||||||||
| Address: | 7225 Burns Street Richland Hills, Texas 76118 | ||||||||||
| Coordinates: | 32.7996°N -97.223°W | ||||||||||
| Other: | Trinity Metro: 23 (M-F), 55 (M-Sun) | ||||||||||
| Platform: | 1 island platform | ||||||||||
| Tracks: | 2 | ||||||||||
| Structure: | At-grade | ||||||||||
| Parking: | 480 spaces | ||||||||||
| Bicycle: | bike lockups | ||||||||||
| Opened: | September 16, 2000[1] | ||||||||||
| Closed: | February 17, 2024 | ||||||||||
| Accessible: | Yes | ||||||||||
| Owned: | Trinity Metro | ||||||||||
| Zone: | West | ||||||||||
| Mapframe: | yes | ||||||||||
| Mapframe-Custom: |
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Richland Hills station was a Trinity Railway Express commuter rail station. The station was located in southern Richland Hills, Texas, at the intersection of Handley–Ederville Road and Airport Freeway (SH 121).
The station served as a park-and-ride lot. A bus route operated by Trinity Metro connects the station to Tarrant County College Northeast Campus in Hurst, Texas.[2]
On February 19, 2024, Richland Hills station was replaced by Trinity Lakes station, making it the first and only TRE station to close from the public. Trinity Lakes station is located 0.8miles east of the former station in Fort Worth, on its border with Hurst.[3]
Richland Hills joined the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (FWTA, now Trinity Metro) in May 1992.[4] Construction for the station started in January 1999.[5]
The station opened on September 16, 2000, with a parade, an opening ceremony, and an inaugural train. The Bell and CentrePort stations opened the same day; all three entered regular service two days later.[6] The Richland Hills station served as the western terminus of the TRE until it extension to Downtown Fort Worth on December 3, 2001.[7]
In 2011, FWTA began a $2 million improvement project for the station, which expanded the parking lot and realigned Burns Street, the station's primary entrance. This created a pocket of undeveloped land for a future transit-oriented development project,[8] [9] though no development ever occurred.[10]
In November 2016, Richland Hills held a citywide referendum on its membership in FWTA. The vote, which was the fourth on FWTA membership in the city's history, resulted in the city leaving FWTA.[11] FWTA's bus and paratransit services in Richland Hills ceased. However, Richland Hills station remained open, as most of the commuters using the station were not Richland Hills residents.
See main article: Trinity Lakes station. In 2012, the city of Fort Worth created a tax increment financing district for Trinity Lakes, a planned development adjacent to the Trinity Railway Express rail line.[12] A TRE station was proposed for the development, and it was speculated as a potential replacement for Richland Hills as early as 2015.[13]
Formal plans for a station at Trinity Lakes began in 2018, with Richland Hills originally slated for closure in 2020.[14] Following delays, construction on the Trinity Lakes station began in February 2023[15] and opened on February 19, 2024.