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Tri-Rail
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Locale | South Florida |
|---|---|
| Transit type | Regional rail |
| Began operation | 1987 |
| System length | 72 mi (116 km) |
| No. of lines | 1 |
| No. of stations | 18 |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) (standard gauge) |
| Operator | South Florida Regional Transportation Authority |
Tri-Rail is a Regional rail line linking Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach, Florida. It is run by the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority. The 72-mile system has 18 stations along the South Florida coast. The rail connects to the Metrorail in Miami at the Tri-Rail/Metrorail Transfer Station.
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Formed in 1987 by the Florida Department of Transportation, the system originally was created to provide temporary commuter rail service while construction crews widened Interstate 95 and the parallel Florida's Turnpike, but Tri-Rail outlasted its temporary status, adding more trains and stations in the process. Line extensions have enabled Tri-Rail to service all three South Florida international airports: Miami International Airport, Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, and Palm Beach International Airport. Therefore, the South Florida Regional Transit Authority now touts Tri-Rail as not only a convenient alternative for daily commuters who wish to avoid Interstate 95, but also as a convenient way for travelers to get to and from South Florida airports as well.
Tri-Rail shares its track with Amtrak's Silver Meteor and Silver Star and CSX's Miami Subdivision. The Florida Department of Transportation purchased the track from CSX in 1989. Under the terms of the agreement, CSX would continue to provide dispatch services and physical plant maintenance for the track and would have exclusive freight trackage rights until certain conditions were met.
In 1996, the initial 67-mile route was extended north from West Palm Beach Station, and south from Hialeah Market Station to include the new Mangonia Park and Miami Airport stations, which opened in 1998. Due to this expansion, the system now extends roughly 72 miles.
As of 2006, a project to upgrade the full length of the line from Mangonia Park to Miami Airport with double-track is nearly completed, with only a small section of single-track where the line crosses the New River on an existing single bascule bridge. This will be replaced with a high-level fixed bridge which parallels I-95.
Once the dual-tracking project and several other modernization projects are completed, the SFRTA will assume full responsibility for dispatching and maintenance from CSX.
Tri-Rail utilizes Bombardier BiLevel Coaches, but as of late 2006, has begun adding bi-level rolling stock from Colorado Railcar.
In the 2025 and 2030 long range transportation plans, Tri-Rail has envisioned moving to or adding service on the Florida East Coast (FEC) rail corridor, which runs next to U.S. Route 1 (Biscayne Boulevard/Brickell avenue in Miami-Dade County, and Federal Highway in Broward & Palm Beach Counties). This corridor will provide more opportunities for pedestrian travel from stations to end destinations than does the current South Florida Rail Corridor, which must rely almost exclusively on shuttle buses for passenger distribution.
Currently, the Tri-Rail has five (5) Stations in Miami-Dade County, seven (7) in Broward County (Greater Fort Lauderdale), and six (6) in Palm Beach County.
- Miami Airport Station
- Hialeah Market Station
- Metrorail Transfer Station*
- Opa-locka Station
- Golden Glades Station
- Hollywood Station
- Sheridan Street Station
- Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport at Dania Beach Station
- Fort Lauderdale Station
- Cypress Creek Station
- Pompano Beach Station
- Deerfield Beach Station
- Boca Raton Station
- Delray Beach Station
- Boynton Beach Station
- Lake Worth Station
- West Palm Beach Station**
- Mangonia Park Station
- (* - Connects to Downtown Miami and the University of Miami via Metrorail)
- (** - Connects to Palm Beach International Airport)
The service began with EMD F40PH locomotives and Bombardier BiLevel Coaches leased from GO Transit. Tri-Rail later took delivery of several F40PH-2L locomotives and F40PH-2C locomotives. Recently, several GP-49 locomotives were acquired from Norfolk Southern and sport the new, "swoosh" Tri-Rail livery.
In 2003, after receiving a grant from the Florida Department of Transportation, Tri-Rail contracted to purchase two pieces of rolling stock from Colorado Railcar: a self-propelled Diesel Multiple Unit prototype coach and standard bi-level coach entered regular service with Tri-Rail in October 2006. The new purpose-built commuter coaches are larger than the Bombardier BiLevel Coaches they are designed to eventually replace in practically every respect, holding up to 188 passengers, with room for bicycles and luggage.
The new Colorado Railcar consist, with its non-powered coach, is currently coupled to one of the diesel locomotives as a "helper" measure during regular service along the line. Sources at Tri-Rail have indicated that temporary, steeper-than-normal grades during construction on the New River Bridge require more power and torque than the DMU's powerplants can currently produce and still operate within safety limits. Sources also indicate that the locomotive will be dropped from the DMU consist once the New River Bridge in Ft. Lauderdale is complete in early 2007.
While the DMU is a more comfortable train in terms of passenger seating and capacity, the prototype consist suffers from a lack of bicycle and luggage storage that have been a source of irritation and complaints from daily and airport commuters. Sources close to the project also indicate that the prototype DMU is irreparably underpowered and cannot operate within current safety margins without a "helper" locomotive, thus defeating the purpose altogether of a self-propelled coach. These early problems with the DMU demonstrator prototype cast the future acquisition of more DMU rolling stock by Tri-Rail in some doubt.
- Tri-Rail Official website
- South Florida Regional Transportation Authority
- South Florida East Coast Corridor Study - Study by the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority to reduce congestion and increase mobility in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.
- Transit Miami
- Colorado Railcar