People traveling to work, school, airports, and for leisure will say goodbye to the light blue skies, white clouds and palm trees design that were synonymous with Tri-Rail trains.
For the first time in more than 20 years, Tri-Rail is undergoing an aesthetic makeover of their passenger train cars, aiming for a more navy blue color scheme, coalesced with light blue, orange, and green stripes.
The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, the governing board for the commuter rail service, announced this week that they plan to re-wrap the exterior of 12 locomotives and 49 passenger cars.
The re-design includes functional improvements, such as new engines and renovations of restrooms, seats, and floors. Tri-Rail is overhauling, incrementally, the way it looks and rides before potentially expanding their new service into MiamiCentral Station in the fall.
The changes are part of a long-term effort to accommodate the uptick in travelers. A Tri-Rail spokesperson told WLRN, the service has seen an overall 25% increase from the same time last year.
Last month, Tri-Rail reported ridership surpassed 350,000 for the first time in three years.
The commuter rail line, owned by the Florida Department of Transportation, links to Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.
The service continues to be a vital public form of transportation for daily commuters. According to Tri-Rail's recent survey, 50 percent of commuters take the train to and from work, 32 percent for leisure.
Officials say a timeline for the train design is still under review.
South Florida Regional Transportation Authority Executive Director David Dech, in a statement, said the agency is "in the process of applying for a federal grant" to replace the entire passenger train fleet but the entire process could "take many years to be successfully implemented."
