4 ms·

Commuters between Miami and Ft Lauderdale can already take Tri-Rail; service started in 1990. What's missing?

jabgrabdthrow 8y ago
This one goes to west palm beach and eventually to Orlando. I think it is faster too but not sure.
josephpmay 8y ago
Double average speed, fewer stops, station is in Downtown FTL instead of West of I95, doesn’t have the stigma that it’s what poor people take when they can’t afford a car
- Nition 8y ago
  They are actually careful not to say the average speed, only the top speed. But they then compare the top speed to the average speed of cars.
rayiner 8y ago
It’s slow and has too many stops. It’s a problem with public transit in general: it can’t figure out what it wants to be. Is it core infrastructure to get people to work? Is it a life line for people too old or poor to drive? Etc.
yardie 8y ago
I'm a Miami commuter for the moment and I know the ins and outs of this system as I guess I'm in the minority of Miami commuters who actually try and use mass transit. Tri-rail is strictly a commuter train and is not an intercity train. Except for West Palm Beach all the train stations are just outside the main corridors of major cities, along I-95. You'll need to take a bus, shuttle, rideshare or taxi into the city center. Miami has it far worse as Tri-rail doesn't follow the I-95 corridor and heads west to Hialeah. Basically dropping you off into a train yard where you then have to take the metrorail into the city of Miami. Brightline is another attempt at creating real intercity rail. A few stops at major cities. There is parking but it is not commuter park and ride. Btw, I don't own a car. I use mass transit, rideshare, and care hire. In South Florida I'm a bit of an anomaly.
fma 8y ago
I don't understand it either. I'm originally from Fort Lauderdale. The Fort Lauderdale stop is in downtown Fort Lauderdale. If you work there you probably live in Broward. I suppose it gives people waaay in the future to live near a station in Miami and Palm Beach and commute down on the train. My guess is they are banking on ridership to Orlando. It talks of connecting to Atlanta, and other cities, which would be nice. I've transplanted to Atlanta and would take a train over driving or flying (at a reasonable cost) in a heart beat.
- djsumdog 8y ago
  I really hope they succeeded. Imagine if one day we had rail from Orlando up to Atlanta, and then on to Chattanooga, Nashville? ... I think once we saw really good high speed systems, Americans would demand more. Florida and California are the two hot spots right now that really need to succeed. I don't think I'll see real high speed rail expansion in the US before (if) I reach retirement age, but I think it will greatly benefit the next generation. But for that to happen, it needs a lot of support to expand now.
spc476 8y ago
South Florida (area between Jupiter and Homestead) is roughly 100 miles north to south and about 15 miles east (Atlantic Ocean) to west (Everglades swamp) so it's a narrow stip of land. Tri-Rail runs mostly (but not entirely) along I-95 (about 2 to 4 miles from the Atlantic Ocean). Nice if you live near a Tri-Rail station, or work near a Tri-Tail station, but that's not the majority of people, who have to travel a significant portion east/west. Again, nice if you have a car. Less so if you don't [1]. [1] Years ago, some friends and I took public transportation from Boca Raton to the Miami Zoo. One way took over three hours and involved several transfers between rail and bus systems.
- fma 8y ago
  How does a train that has 3 stops in south Florida going to solve the problem? People will still need to move east/west. At least tri rail has more stops, so you don't need to move north/south as much. Additionally Brightline schedule is showing a train every 2 hours. I don't believe their target audience is commuters, but people flying into MIA and stopping in Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach or Orlando - or vice versa, from Orlando to down south.
cdelsolar 8y ago
Tri-rail is basically ratchet AF and slow, but it is convenient if you have nothing else.

This one goes to west palm beach and eventually to Orlando. I think it is faster too but not sure.

Double average speed, fewer stops, station is in Downtown FTL instead of West of I95, doesn’t have the stigma that it’s what poor people take when they can’t afford a car

Nition 8y ago
They are actually careful not to say the average speed, only the top speed. But they then compare the top speed to the average speed of cars.

rayiner 8y ago

It’s slow and has too many stops. It’s a problem with public transit in general: it can’t figure out what it wants to be. Is it core infrastructure to get people to work? Is it a life line for people too old or poor to drive? Etc.

yardie 8y ago

I'm a Miami commuter for the moment and I know the ins and outs of this system as I guess I'm in the minority of Miami commuters who actually try and use mass transit. Tri-rail is strictly a commuter train and is not an intercity train. Except for West Palm Beach all the train stations are just outside the main corridors of major cities, along I-95. You'll need to take a bus, shuttle, rideshare or taxi into the city center. Miami has it far worse as Tri-rail doesn't follow the I-95 corridor and heads west to Hialeah. Basically dropping you off into a train yard where you then have to take the metrorail into the city of Miami. Brightline is another attempt at creating real intercity rail. A few stops at major cities. There is parking but it is not commuter park and ride. Btw, I don't own a car. I use mass transit, rideshare, and care hire. In South Florida I'm a bit of an anomaly.

fma 8y ago

I don't understand it either. I'm originally from Fort Lauderdale. The Fort Lauderdale stop is in downtown Fort Lauderdale. If you work there you probably live in Broward. I suppose it gives people waaay in the future to live near a station in Miami and Palm Beach and commute down on the train. My guess is they are banking on ridership to Orlando. It talks of connecting to Atlanta, and other cities, which would be nice. I've transplanted to Atlanta and would take a train over driving or flying (at a reasonable cost) in a heart beat.

djsumdog 8y ago
I really hope they succeeded. Imagine if one day we had rail from Orlando up to Atlanta, and then on to Chattanooga, Nashville? ... I think once we saw really good high speed systems, Americans would demand more. Florida and California are the two hot spots right now that really need to succeed. I don't think I'll see real high speed rail expansion in the US before (if) I reach retirement age, but I think it will greatly benefit the next generation. But for that to happen, it needs a lot of support to expand now.

spc476 8y ago

South Florida (area between Jupiter and Homestead) is roughly 100 miles north to south and about 15 miles east (Atlantic Ocean) to west (Everglades swamp) so it's a narrow stip of land. Tri-Rail runs mostly (but not entirely) along I-95 (about 2 to 4 miles from the Atlantic Ocean). Nice if you live near a Tri-Rail station, or work near a Tri-Tail station, but that's not the majority of people, who have to travel a significant portion east/west. Again, nice if you have a car. Less so if you don't [1]. [1] Years ago, some friends and I took public transportation from Boca Raton to the Miami Zoo. One way took over three hours and involved several transfers between rail and bus systems.

fma 8y ago
How does a train that has 3 stops in south Florida going to solve the problem? People will still need to move east/west. At least tri rail has more stops, so you don't need to move north/south as much. Additionally Brightline schedule is showing a train every 2 hours. I don't believe their target audience is commuters, but people flying into MIA and stopping in Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach or Orlando - or vice versa, from Orlando to down south.

cdelsolar 8y ago

Tri-rail is basically ratchet AF and slow, but it is convenient if you have nothing else.