Tri-Rail Downtown Link (Miami Central Station / MCS)

Anyone holding their breath?

https://www.miamitodaynews.com/2022/09/ ... n-to-2023/

Fair Use:

“We will not be in downtown Miami station in November,” said David Dech, executive director of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, running operations of Tri-Rail. “We will not be there this calendar year,” he added at the Sept. 23 board meeting.

The remarks come only one month and a half after he joined the authority, and four months after former Executive Director Steven Abrams assured the public that Tri-Rail trains would be in downtown Miami by November.

Mr. Dech said Tri-Rail trains will be in downtown Miami in 2023, although he could not provide a date since he continues to negotiate contracts with Florida East Coast (FEC) Railway and Alstom Signaling Operation LLC. “I cannot give you a date until I get those contracts signed,” he said.

And volks, what "excuse" will be "on-tap" next year? Now that the Wynwood community is becoming "upscale", and giving the "starving artists" who have called it home the boot, will they start complaining how they can't get from one side of the tracks to the other? Or will they see the "endangered species of the day" X-ing the tracks and decide that "he was here first".

After a three-year hiatus (geez, wonder why?), I'm "going down" to Miami during January. Alas, a Tri-Rail ride, as well as an "end to end" Brightline will just have to wait.

Progress?
https://www.bizjournals.com/southflorid ... ystem.html

Victor O. Garcia, director of public affairs for the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, which operates Tri-Rail, said vehicle testing on the tracks leading into MiamiCentral is scheduled to start on January 2023. It's a first step toward Tri-Rail finally being able to dock at the one-million-square-foot Brightline complex.

Tri-Rail was originally supposed to start operating at MiamiCentral in 2017, but train platform design defects and issues with a federally-mandated train safety system created multiple delays. Meanwhile, Brightline remains focused on the establishment of an express train connection to Orlando and building its own stations in Boca Raton and near Aventura.

In a release, David Dech, SFRTA's new executive director, said the tests are possible thanks to a signed agreement with the Florida East Coast Railway and Brightline granting permission for the test runs. Both private companies control access to the train tracks.

https://www.thenextmiami.com/tri-rail-t ... fall-2023/

...
Tri-Rail train service to MiamiCentral is now expected to begin in Fall 2023.

The prediction was made at a presentation to the board of the Citizens Independent Transportation Trust.

The agency is now said to be in good communication with Brightline and its parent company over access to the MiamiCentral hub and train tracks, and they have been able to reach testing and training milestones.

Service was originally expected to begin in 2017.

https://www.miamitodaynews.com/2023/05/ ... he-tracks/

Cross-posted to Brightline as well.

TriRail is itching to get downtown to MCS: https://www.miamitodaynews.com/2023/05/ ... he-tracks/

Tri-Rail ready to come downtown, wants trains on the tracks

Tri-Rail is pouring on the oil as it races to serve downtown Miami Central Station and is itching to get its trains on the tracks.

“We’re working with Brightline and FEC to gain physical access to the corridor,” David Dech, executive director of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, which runs Tri-Rail, told the Miami-Dade Citizens’ Independent Transportation Trust last week.

But that’s the rub: as publicly owned Tri-Rail takes final steps to enter downtown, it still must deal not only with mountains of federal rules but also Brightline, the privately owned intercity passenger service with which it will share the station and rails, and FEC, the private freight railway that owns and also uses the rails.
...
First, he said, problems getting Tri-Rail trains to fit into a station with a platform built to Brightline specifications have finally been overcome. Train steps for passengers had stuck out, hitting the platform. But now Tri-Rail has accepted platform modifications that make it work and has signed off with Brightline, he said.
...

https://www.thenextmiami.com/tri-rails- ... next-week/

Tri-Rail’s First Ever Train To Downtown Miami Approved For Next Week

Tri-Rail has finally obtained approval to test a trainset running into MiamiCentral, according to WLRN’s Danny Rivero.

The authorization for testing lasts from June 19 through June 23, a letter from track owner Florida East Coast Railway shows.

Additional test dates may be considered based on the results, the letter states.

Meanwhile, the actual launch of Tri-Rail’s revenue service to downtown Miami may be delayed again, according to Miami Today.
...

Downtown schedule adjustments: WPBF

Tri-Rail to modify schedule

The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority announced Monday that starting Monday, Dec. 11, it will operate on a modified version of its schedule.

SFRTA said the change keeps its 50-weekday and 30-weekend train service in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties as Tri-Rail gets closer to connecting its services to downtown Miami at MiamiCentral — a multipurpose transportation, leisure and business hub.

“This latest schedule change is prep work for us to test how Tri-Rail train operations harmonize with Brightline and Florida Eastcoast Railway train movement,” said Dave Dech, SFRTA's executive director. “It’s the next step in the process of getting service started into Downtown Miami.”

Service start set for 1/13/24: Local10

Start date announced: Here’s when Tri-Rail is coming to downtown Miami
...
The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority announced Friday that Tri-Rail trains will roll into MiamiCentral station, located at 600 NW First Ave., beginning on Jan. 13.

Service was supposed to begin in 2017.

“There were some structural delays on the station, there were some construction delays on the station, there were issues with our equipment. I mean it was kind of the lining up of everything added up to it,” SFRTA Director David Deck said. “So, working with our partners over here, Brightline, the station stations have been worked, the stations are ready, the trains fit, we modified some of the stairs on some of our equipment to make sure that it fits the platform here for level boarding.”

with the addition of the tri rail service riders leaving or going to downtown Miami will no longer need to use the metro rail to then transfer to tri rail trains, but they will still need to transfer to a another tri rail train at the transfer station to continue north Dec hopes eventually service can expand to include direct service to Palm Beach County.
...

I'm guessing that since the TriRail trains into MiamiCentral are only going one stop to Metro Rail Transfer and back, that TriRail isn't confident in the number of passengers who would use this service vs continuing to use the Metro lines to their destination?

They are starting with just 6 shuttle trains in each direction and will incrementally increase the number of trains to 13 in each direction. Although the official statement didn't mention it, the news story mentioned plans to eventually extend some or all of these trains to Magnolia Park. I wonder if this will be by providing 38 trains in each direction or by diverting some services that currently go to Miami Airport to MiamiCentral.

Tri Rail's announcement

Well HOWDAYALIKTHAT!!!!! (phrase of long-time "voice of the Yankees" Mel Allen)

Just in time for my upcoming trip to Miami Jan 27.

Sunday Jan 28 would be when I could take a joyride if the Miami Central Sunday schedules will permit. I'd "change at Metrorail" then ride up to W Palm, have Dinner at Il Bellagio (on Rosemary with an excellent Veal Chop) or maybe Ruth's (on Okeechobee) then take Brightline (Coach will suffice, as I will have had "sufficient" vino) back to Miami.

My understanding is that the all-shuttle-only operation is temporary. I believe that eventually, half of the trains will operate through to MiamiCentral, and half will go to the airport. Whether there’s a connecting shuttle to the “other” terminal for each train is unknown.

Am not sure how this operation will work. All trains to & from downtown MIA will have to use Metro rail transfer east platform. That is going to make for interesting transfers to / from Fll & north trains.t

Satellite imagery shows cross overs enabling all trains to use the west (southbound) platform at the Metro Rail Transfer station just north and south of the station (so a train using the west platform could use the cross over to get to the interchange track that would bring it onto the FEC trackage) and they could use the lead into their Hialeah maintenance facility to hold the shuttle out of the way of a north bound train. In theory they could make all transfers be "same platform".

RandallW wrote: ↑Sun Jan 07, 2024 4:58 am Satellite imagery shows cross overs enabling all trains to use the west (southbound) platform at the Metro Rail Transfer station just north and south of the station (so a train using the west platform could use the cross over to get to the interchange track that would bring it onto the FEC trackage) and they could use the lead into their Hialeah maintenance facility to hold the shuttle out of the way of a north bound train. In theory they could make all transfers be "same platform".

I stand corrected. Open railway map shows that crossover. Should have checked that first.

https://www.openrailwaymap.org/

Schedules:

We shall see of P 682X works for me on Jan 28, connecting to a MIA-WP train. Dinner in WP, Brightline return.