MIAMI — South Florida commuter rail service Tri-Rail still expects to begin long-delayed service to Brightline’s downtown MiamiCentral downtown station by the end of the year, Miami Today reports.
A spokesman for the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, Tri-Rail’s parent agency, told Miami Today that a draft schedule has been submitted to partners including Brightline and Florida East Coast Railway, while operating and safety plans are awaiting approval from the Federal Railroad Administration, “which we expect mid-December.”
Tri-Rail was once projected to begin service to MiamiCentral in 2017, but operations have been stalled by Issues ranging from positive train control certification to platform clearance problems at MiamiCentral [see “Tri-Rail service to Brightline’s Miami station faces clearance issues,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 13, 2021]. The station was built with platforms specifically for Tri-Rail service.
The commuter rail service runs 25 weekday roundtrips on a single 73-mile, 18-station line to Mangonia Park, Fla., north of West Palm Beach. It currently is averaging about 13,500 weekday passengers, about 90% of pre-pandemic levels.
Tri-Rail’s Miami terminal is currently at Miami International Airport, about 5 miles from the downtown location of the Brightline facility.
Share this article
