After nearly a decade of challenges, Tri-Rail, a regional train service, is finally connecting thousands of weekly South Florida passengers to downtown Miami, beginning Saturday.
Passengers had previously been exiting the Metrorail Transfer Station in Hialeah to jump on the Metrorail train and commuting several stops before arriving at the MiamiCentral Station. This new train-to-train transfer service will switch tracks for a non-stop service into the MiamiCentral Station, according to Tri-Rail officials.
During a private commemoration on board Tri-Rail from West Palm Beach, David Dech, executive director for the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority (SFRTA), told WLRN the expansion is a “layer of connectivity” that will “increase and improve mobility in South Florida.”
Miami-Dade Commissioner Raquel Regalado, a current Tri-Rail board member, called the expansion an “important moment for the tri-county region.”
"To see downtown Miami through the window of a Tri-Rail train is a game changer,' she said.
The Tri-Rail fares will be lower than Brightline, which also serves the MiamiCentral Station to and from West Palm Beach — an hour and 40- minute trip.
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The original plan for direct service to MiamiCentral nearly decade ago was delayed due to planning issues and logistical mishaps, such as construction defects that prevented Tri-Rail from using Brightline’s main terminal in Miami. In early 2022, Steven Abrams, the former executive director Tri-Rail, resigned over several logistical issues.
Dech, who's been with SFRTA for more than a year, said direct train service from West Palm Beach to the MiamiCentral Station is still in the works.
The $70 million local investment to accommodate Tri-Rail trains in MiamiCentral is part of a long-term goal to enhance service as Tri-Rail ridership continues to surge. A weekly average of 13,000 passengers use Tri-Rail.
The new connection is in a soft launch period, starting with six trains a day to and from MiamiCentral Station until additional trains are added to the schedule, up to 26 weekday trains into downtown Miami.
“It will quickly ramp up over a couple of weeks,” Dech said. “So it's not going to be a prolonged soft launch.”
Jesus Tundidor, a city councilman in Hialeah, called the opening of the new line a major benefit to the city. For years, city leaders have focused future plans for Hialeah around the city’s three Metrorail stations, and two Tri-Rail stations.
The plan is to allow denser, multi-use development around those stations and lure more young people who work in downtown Miami to the city.
“If we’re gonna make this the future of Hialeah, we want to obviously reduce the dependency on private vehicles and put the focus more on this type of transportation,” said Tundidor. “Anything that involves mass transit, I think it’s a good thing.”
Raphael Clemente, executive director of the West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority, told WLRN the downtown Miami service represents “a big step forward” because for too long in South Florida, leaders have under invested in public transportation.
“This is one more great connection to our region with stops throughout the region between here and Miami that just makes downtown West Palm Beach that much more attractive,” Clemente said.
He said the momentum toward greater access to public transportation also makes West Palm Beach “competitive and vibrant as a place for business and quality of life.”
Jesus Fuentes, a Broward-based transportation planner and train enthusiast who has been riding Tri-Rail since the early 1990s, told WLRN it’s “fantastic” to have a train service that makes it more “convenient for folks coming downtown.”
One more major reason is the ability to take his bicycle along for his train commute, a service not available on Brightline.
“I tend to use my bike to access the station,” Fuentes said. The fact that you can take your bike with you on the train and just being able to do that and coming downtown is so much easier.”
The expansion will make it faster for tri-county residents to travel to airports, sporting events and other recreational activities.
A Missing Piece
Commissioner Regalado said among the issues to overcome to launch the service was updating the trains.
“We had the money to overhaul the trains, but we hadn't overhauled them in over three years,” Regalado said. “And that was one of the things that led us to a new executive director.”
Regalado said Tri-Rail officials are actively overhauling trains and are “purchasing six more trains that are going to be compliant with the new [federal] emission standards.”
“We just got a federal grant for an overhaul to do 30% of our fleet,” she said.
"Tri-Rail Customer Experience Specialists" will be staffing MiamiCentral to assist passengers with the new service, said Tri-Rail officials. Travelers seeking more information can visit the www.tri-rail.com, or call 1-800-TRI-RAIL (874-7245).
