Tri-Rail ready to load in downtown Miami

“One more way to get people to avoid the Turnpike and I-95,” is how David Dech, director of the South Florida Regional Transportation Agency, describes this Saturday’s long-awaited arrival of Tri-Rail trains in downtown Miami.

The achievement adds a fourth leaf, the one that symbolizes success and luck, to mass transit’s four-leaf downtown clover.

“You’ve got Brightline, Metrorail, Metromover,” Mr. Dech told Miami Today this week. “And now Tri-Rail is another layered complement, one more way to get people to avoid the Turnpike and I-95, which is really the goal.”

“I envision Broward and Palm Beach (county) residents making the trip south to get to work downtown, as well as for cultural and sporting events,” Mr. Dech said. “Likewise, it gives Miami-Dade residents the chance to explore the north part of South Florida.”

The long-awaited $70 million tax-funded project to bring Tri-Rail service downtown was to be finished by 2017. While not derailing the project, blockages from exposed rebar, too narrow platform issues, to negotiations with Brightline and the Florida East Coast Railway throttled its completion.

The soft launch begins Saturday, when southbound riders can board a shuttle train at the Metrorail Transfer Station in Hialeah, according to a release from the transportation authority.

“The first shuttle train will leave the Metrorail Transfer Station in Hialeah at 7:10 a.m.,” Victor Garcia, the authority’s public affairs director, told Miami Today, “arriving at MiamiCentral at 7:30 a.m. The next departure back from MiamiCentral is 8:35 a.m.”

The ticket price “will be the same price zone as if one is traveling to Miami International Airport,” Mr. Garcia said. “We have not changed pricing for MiamiCentral. Prices vary by zone.”

Within a fortnight, Tri-Rail’s downtown target gradually will increase to 26 weekday trains. Thirteen will be going in and out of MiamiCentral.

“This is just one more piece of bringing connectivity to the region,” Mr. Dech said, “with more project expansions coming up. But our real focus after this is to really home in on the customer experience.

“There is a great vision about having passenger rail potentially going out to Homestead, Doral and expanding Brightline services,” he said. “There is such potential here, and the beautiful thing is a lot of the infrastructure is already in place.”

“The day has finally arrived when the public can plan their direct trips in and out of Downtown Miami onboard Tri-Rail trains,” said Miami-Dade Commissioner Raquel Regalado, an authority governing board member.

“It has been years of hard work and coordination with many supporting partners throughout the region, so we celebrate this news with them, our supporters and mostly our loyal passengers,” Commissioner Regalado said.

The authority’s governing board recently approved an expansion of first mile/last mile services. That represents the distance a commuter covers to get to a rail station and the distance from the station to their office or destination.

First-last mile improvements include a $5 ride subsidy from station to a destination and a $15 subsidy to Palm Beach International Airport. The authority provides transportation to all three international airports in the tri-county area.

Tri-Rail averaged over 300,000 monthly riders between January and November 2023, Miami Today has reported, an overall 18% increase from the same time in 2022. It was on pace to reach 4 million riders by year’s end, Mr. Garcia reported. Tri-Rail trains averaged over 13,000 weekday and 6,500 weekend riders between September and November 2023.

Tri-Rail’s overall ridership has recovered 85% from its 2019 pre-Covid days, when it had its highest ridership year with 4,495,039 passengers.

Meanwhile, the authority continues to work on bicycle and scooter facilities at Miami-Dade County locations. “We are pulling every lever we can to make that happen,” Mr. Dech told Miami Today, “and we are open to partnerships.”

Nationwide, debates have arisen about the wisdom of bike and scooter rental stations in metropolitan areas. “There are mixed opinions about bikes and scooters,” Mr. Dech said, “and there are very few people in the middle.” But his mindset is to provide convenience to commuters using the Tri-Rail.

The new schedule can be viewed and downloaded at www.tri-rail.com. Copies will be made available at all Tri-Rail stations.