Move over Brightline, because Tri-Rail is officially expanding service to MiamiCentral Station.
“The day has finally arrived when the public can plan their direct trips in and out of Downtown Miami onboard Tri-Rail trains,” said Raquel Regalado, a Miami-Dade commissioner and a governing board member of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority. “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.”
The new service will be introduced as a train-to-train transfer at the Metrorail Transfer Station in Hialeah.
From there, a shuttle train will spur out of the South Florida Rail Corridor (SFRC) into the Florida East Coast (FEC) Railway for a direct service to MiamiCentral and back.
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The service will have a soft launch on Saturday, Jan. 13, for two weeks starting with six trains going in and six trains going out of MiamiCentral.
Over time, more trains will be incrementally added to the schedule before having the full schedule consisting of 26 weekday trains -- 13 trains going in and out of MiamiCentral.
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“We have worked through many challenges which only makes the accomplishment of this major service enhancement for the public that much sweeter,” Regalado said.
Tri-Rail riders weighed in on the future added transit stop.
“I think that’s a great idea. Expansion is always great. It gives people the opportunity who don’t have transportation. Now it’s affordable to everyone,” said Tri-Rail rider Wanda Caliman.
“Honestly I think it’s a good thing. There’s not a lot of stops in Miami,” said Tri-Rail rider Peter Engel.
Several funding partners provided a local investment of $70 million for construction costs to accommodate Tri-Rail trains in MiamiCentral.
Tri-Rail leadership estimates it will cost about $8 million annually for service running in and out of MiamiCentral Station. As an added perk, Tri-Rail ridership is also up 18% compared to the same time in December 2022.
The new connecting service will be available seven days a week, including holidays.
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