Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Rail line testing Miami service
Brightline station nearly ready to go, starting date not set
Brightline is conducting test runs to downtown Miami as it prepares to extend its express passenger service — but officials are not saying exactly when that will happen.
The first train rolled into the MiamiCentral station from Fort Lauderdale on March 29 and more test runs are set to begin this week. Brightline officials said the station is almost complete but they gave no specific opening date.
There were five weeks of tests runs between the Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach stations before service began on Jan. 13.
MiamiCentral is part of an 11-acre project that includes businesses, apartments and offices between Northwest Third and Eighth streets. It’s within walking distance of Miami-Dade College, the courthouse and county government center, American Airlines Arena and Bayfront Park.
The station, with a platform 50 feet above the street, will be a transportation hub for Brightline, Tri-Rail, Metrorail, Metrobus, Metromover, and the Miami Trolley.
When up and running, Brightline fares between Fort Lauderdale and Miami should cost $10 one-way in the Smart coach and $15 one-way in the Select coach — the same as the current introductory prices between Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.
Construction of the next phase of the service between West Palm Beach and Orlando could begin as
early as this year and take nearly three years to complete, officials have said. But schedules have been extended routinely in the past as the project progressed.
Brightline has been running up to 11 round trips between Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach daily. A late Friday night train was just added to the schedule.
Officials have credited special events such as Tortuga Music Festival in Fort Lauderdale and the Palm Beach International Boat Show for attracting more business and casual passengers to the trains that can zip between cities in about 30 minutes.
Each of the five express trains carry 240 passengers, but officials won’t say how many people have been riding them since service began.
Meanwhile, work to create quiet zones in South Florida is expected to be in place by summer.
The required safety upgrades at railroad crossings would mean no more train horns blasting repeatedly unless there was an emergency.
Palm Beach County could fall silent first because there are fewer crossings to upgrade.
Work on Florida East Coast railroad crossings in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Lake Worth, Lantana and West Palm Beach could be finished by the end of the month, officials said.
Boynton Beach may take longer. The city is installing more gates at four crossings because two people were struck and killed by trains in January.
The affected cities and the Federal Railroad Administration would have 21 days to inspect and approve the upgrades before the quiet zones take effect.