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OK I think I'm officially riding the train to the game tomorrow&#3

Harry

By Harry
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Harry Grand Master

Harry

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The train rocked. We had more fun yesterday than I can remember in a long time. Of course winning had a big part of that.

To recap my group was coming from Northwest Dallas. We took the Greenline at the Royal Station and connected to the A Train to Denton at the Trinity Mills Station.

The only issues that we had were the A Train at the Trinity Mills Station only runs every couple of hours on Saturday as opposed to every hour as it does Monday thru Friday. So catching the Green Line at Royal was easy and fast. Once we got to the Trinity Mills station we had to wait about 20-30 minutes. Of course better planning on our side could have prevented it. We did not use the Saturday schedule as we should have.

The A train from Trinity Mills to Downtown Denton is about 23 minutes. The A Train is a real train, with a Diesel engine and the cars are clean and great AC. They have bicycle hangars you can clip your bike to. We had a good contingent of Mean Green fans on our ride.

One thing to note, the train stops on the outskirts of the square so you have about a 10 minute walk uphill to get to the heart of downtown. Also a day pass on. Greenline is 5 bucks. We didn't have to pay for the Atrain so not sure of what it typically costs.

We went into the square and grabbed a quick drink. There was some type of fesitival going on and they had closed off the main roads around the square so it was easy to get around. What would have helped us would be a little downtown square guide as there aren't a lot of on the ground instructions if you don't know your way around. This walk back to the shuttle is downhill but again you are looking at about 7-10 minutes to get there.

The shuttle runs right about where the train drops off. We waited no more than 5 minutes to catch a shuttle. The shuttle had to backtrack a bit because of the festival closing off some roads but it was a 10 minutes ride to Fouts tops.

The key issue to making this become a fixture in getting fans to the games is making sure that the shuttle is running every 15-30 minutes to Fouts. This could easily be achieved by altering the route of one of the standard bus routes. The other key piece is getting the A train to run more often and later on Saturday. The Denton business community especially on the square should really be behind this because it could bring them a lot of business they wouldn't normally get. Right now most of the UNT fans are heading down 35E to and from games; with a little planning and promotion you could veer some of the fans to stop through the square before and after games. I also think that having pedicabs running from the shuttle area to local square bars and restaurants would be smart as some of the older folks and families with young kids might benefit from not having to walk into town...again not a big deal but might be nice if the weather is inclimate etc...a big map sign in the square that lists the businesses in and around downtown would help visitors find more of the different places to go sort of like a Six Flags map to rides etc..

I would give a big thumbs up to the train experience and would recommend it highly to others!! It was a lot of fun. I think where it will really shine is when the construction on 35e near Denton starts and of course on events on weekday nights. For those of us who have dealt with the nitemare traffic issues coming from Dallas it will be a huge incentive to rise the train. It also allows you to drink without worrying about driving or even if you don't drink you don't have to worry about dealing with others who drink.and drive.

GMG!

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Green Mean Enthusiast

Green Mean

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You mean people actually own Windows phones?!

Been a Windows Phone user for over a year now have had the Zune now XBox music pass for about 3 years now. Never cared for the iPhone and I liked my Android a lot but overall I prefer the Windows Phone OS. I personally have loved both Windows Phones I've owned and planning to upgrade to the new 1020 at some point.

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Charlie NT 73 Enthusiast

Charlie NT 73

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I used the train too.

I was running late so I drove over to the Royal DART station. Long stairway to the train platform. I waited about 15 minutes before the DART train arrived. Met one Mean Green fan on board. This car was clean and had very good air conditioning. The train driverput the peddle to the medal. This train was going 40-50 mph in the parts of the track that were in a straight line. Arrived to the Trinity station in no time. The A-train train arrived about 10 minutes later.

When the train arrived to the Denton station, the UNT shuttle bus was waiting. The bus had to go the back roads around down town Denton because of some event going on in downtown Denton. The shuttle bus arrived near the Fouts parking lot on Eagle Drive. Long walk to the cross over bridge. The shuttle driver told

me the last shuttle would leave at 7:00 pm. I did not get to see the last 3 minutes of the game because I was rushing out of Apogee to catch the last shuttle. There were two other MG fans on board who also believed this was the last shuttle. The shuttle bus leaves and arrives to the Denton station in about 10 minutes. After my bus arrives, I see shuttle bus after shuttle bus arriving with MG fans.

I could have stayed at the game to the end. One homeless person was hitting on everyone for money at the station. The A-train arrives early but waits until 7:53. Several non UNT game people get on board. Two UNT fans get on this train. I saw several UNT fans who parked at the A-train station, who were riding the shuttle buses to the game, and the return back to their cars. The A-train's had good crews, helpful, and the rail cars were clean, no strange ordors. At the Trinity station I got on the DART train. This car was dirty, smelled bad, and no crew. The PA system announcements were distorted. I got off at the Royal station around 9:00 pm. I was the only person there.

I carefully did a look around recon from high on the Royal station platform. I could see my car in the parking lights below. I looked around carefully for possible trouble. All clear. I went down the two flights of stairs, started walking directly to my care and then it happen!

Out of now where this really big bad looking guy comes up from behind me. He wants money to get a room for the night. Looked like he had a weapon in his pocket. I gave him the $15.00 I had. He takes the money and walks off. I jumped in my car, locked the doors. The guy disappeared into the darkness. I did not call the cops, just let this be lesson. Never get on a train near Denton Drive that arrives back late at night.

Going to the game on the train was great. I liked the riding the train. I just need to plan my trip better, leave earlier, and group up with other MG fans. Next time, I will catch the Mockingbird station DART train. Last note, the A-Train crew stated UNT and the A-train office were working out a plan for the home coming game. The crew also stated to write a note to Rick Villarreal, and to the Denton County Transportation Authority on the good and the bad of the train service, and what service UNT fans want to have.

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James329 Newbie

James329

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I am really considering this for the Rice (Thursday night 6:30) game.

One thing I am really dreading is the traffic going north on a weeknight.

I think this train may be the answer.......ride right by all the people sitting on I35.

Will they be running the shuttles for every game?

No. Only homecoming.

Yeah, I'm likely going to be taking the train for the RIce game too, unless I head up to Denton early.

They're only doing this for homecoming. The train doesn't run late enough for the Thursday game.

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TheColonyEagle Grand Master

TheColonyEagle

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No. Only homecoming.

They're only doing this for homecoming. The train doesn't run late enough for the Thursday game.

That's disappointing....

If they promoted something....it looks like they could get some people that live down south on board. (so to speak)

What's the average # of passengers on that thing?

how many does it take to justify running it?

Hell....charge $ to offset any cost. I'd pay it to not have to sit in that crap on a Thurs. Night.

That Thursday night game scares me. There's a lot of football to be played between now and then but that very well could have CUSA West implications and could potentially be our worst attended. Halloween night where families with kids will be doing their thing combined with a 6:30pm start time.

Ouch.

I hope our athletic department is thinking outside the box on this one becasue they're going to have to figure out how to get people to this game.

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James329 Newbie

James329

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That's disappointing....

If they promoted something....it looks like they could get some people that live down south on board. (so to speak)

What's the average # of passengers on that thing?

how many does it take to justify running it?

Hell....charge $ to offset any cost. I'd pay it to not have to sit in that crap on a Thurs. Night.

That Thursday night game scares me. There's a lot of football to be played between now and then but that very well could have CUSA West implications and could potentially be our worst attended. Halloween night where families with kids will be doing their thing combined with a 6:30pm start time.

Ouch.

I hope our athletic department is thinking outside the box on this one becasue they're going to have to figure out how to get people to this game.

Contact RV and Co. about it.

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