Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
$69M FOR TICKET TO RIDE
That’s how much Tri-Rail needs for Miami link
In about two years, Tri-Rail commuters might be able to get to downtown Miami faster and at less cost.
But it will take about $69 million for that to happen — and the money must be raised in the next two months. Tri-Rail officials are courting the city of Miami, Miami-Dade County, a community reinvestment area and the state for the funds and say they are optimistic.
Tri-Rail passengers currently can get to downtown Miami by going to Hialeah and then transferring to Metrorail to finish their trip. That extra step would be eliminated if Tri-Rail links up to a Miami transportation hub soon to be built for All Aboard Florida, a Miami-Orlando express passenger service to set to begin running in late 2016.
If it doesn’t come up with the money, Tri-Rail won’t likely ever run to downtown Miami because of the high cost of shoehorning its own station in a densely populated area where land costs are expensive.
“If we don’t build it now, it will not be built. I don’t see any other way to get into downtown Miami, without cutting up the local grid to build a station,” said Jack Stephens, executive director of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, which runs TriRail.
The cost includes about $60 million to build 50-foot tall platforms above the streets to connect Tri-Rail to a hub serving All Aboard Florida’s trains, Metrorail, Miami-Dade transit buses and a downtown automated train called Metromover.
About $9 million is needed to upgrade a spur track connecting Tri-Rail’s tracks in Hialeah to the Florida East Coast Railway downtown so it can handle passenger trains.
Tri-Rail wants to split its existing 50 weekday trains — 26 would go to downtown Miami, 24 would go to the new hub at Miami International Airport.
To get to downtown, trains would split from the existing Tri-Rail tracks in Hialeah and run along the upgraded FEC spur.
Tri-Rail officials see the link as a way of connecting its trains from Palm Beach County directly into downtown Miami. The downtown link could be a precursor to a much bigger and costlier plan to run commuter trains on the coastal Florida East Coast Railway tracks from downtown Miami to Jupiter.
The entire 72-mile line, from Miami to north of West Palm Beach, currently carries about 15,000 passengers weekdays on tracks that are mostly west of Interstate 95. An additional 2,000 to 4,000 passengers a day are projected to ride Tri-Rail to downtown Miami.
Stephens said Tri-Rail has about eight weeks to get funding in place before the design and construction of All Aboard Florida’s station will advance without TriRail.
The 9-acre site for the Miami station, located between Government Center and Metrorail’s Overtown stop, was cleared in November and December. Drilling for pilings and foundation work for the station and the adjoining towers are underway, with vertical construction expected to start by the end of March.
By running Tri-Rail directly to downtown, Stephens said passengers wouldn’t have to pay a separate transfer fee or fare like they do now if they switch trains.
And they would get there about 5 minutes faster because Metrorail makes 10 stops between Tri-Rail and downtown. And, passengers would save additional time by not having to get off one train and then climb stairs or use an escalator to get to the other train.
Despite the obstacles to obtaining funding, Stephens is optimistic something can be worked out.
“People will look back one day and say ‘you missed the opportunity to put all these modes of transportation together.’ They would think, “Where was your head?’” Stephens said. “Our position is very clear. We are going to try as hard as we can to make make it happen.”