Writer: Esteban Pages
2 min read January 2024 — South Florida mass transit enthusiasts have the following date marked on their calendar: January 13, 2024.
Tri-Rail’s expanded service into the MiamiCentral Station will start operating then, enabling Miami residents to go in and out of downtown Miami riding Tri-Rail trains. The project required a joint investment of $70 million and extends over 9.05 miles. Initially scheduled to be completed in 2017, the expanded service comes at a time when South Florida is experiencing severe traffic congestion.
“Getting into downtown Miami excites me tremendously,” David Dech, executive director of Tri-Rail, told Invest: toward the end of 2023. “It’s one of the things that we’re working very hard towards.” Starting Saturday, Tri-Rail will join Brightline as the only other train service operating between Palm Beach County and downtown Miami and is viewed as a more cost-friendly option.
Key funding partners for the project include Bayfront Management Trust, City of Miami, Citizen’s Independent Transportation Trust, Miami-Dade County, Miami Downtown Development Authority, Omni Community Redevelopment Agency and Southeast Overtown/Park West Community Redevelopment Agency. In the first two weeks of operation of the new downtown Miami link, six trains will be going in and six trains will be going out of MiamiCentral, progressively ramping up to a full 26-train weekday schedule to and from MiamiCentral.
The new operating route is expected to help alleviate traffic congestion in the area as well as boost foot traffic. According to the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority (SFRTA), every dollar invested in public transit generates $4 in economic returns. The sustainability aspect of this milestone should not be understated, as 4.1 billion gallons of gas are saved from going into the atmosphere every year by using public transportation.
According to data-driven traffic management solution provider INRIX, Miami became one of the most congested cities in the world in 2022, moving up from No. 32 in 2021 to No. 8 in 2022. Compared to pre-COVID levels, traffic congestion increased by 30% and local residents lost a total 105 hours stuck in traffic in 2022.
Across South Florida, there have been concentrated efforts to build more transit-oriented developments, which serve to connect more residential with alternative transportation choices. “We have several transit oriented developments, with the biggest happening in West Palm Beach. There are some other opportunities in Boca for transit oriented development as well. Long-term, I would love to see us operate further north and be able to take people to the VA hospital. Of course, nothing’s easy when you’re dealing with multiple property owners and contracts, but this is something we will be working toward,” said Dech.
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