Brightline Negotiating To Operate Northeast Corridor Instead Of Tri-Rail

·40 Comments

You might soon be able to take a Brighline train from downtown Miami to Midtown, the Design District, or Aventura.

Miami-Dade County is now in discussions with Brightline to operate the Northeast Corridor rail line service, according to Javier Betancourt, Executive Director for the Citizens’s Independent Transportation Trust, in an interview with Miami Today. Brightline’s parent company owns the tracks.

The original plan was for Tri-Rail to operate the service, until Brightline expressed interest, Betancourt added.

Tri-Rail will still be expanding into downtown Miami as an extension of their existing service. Betancourt said that Tri-Rail’s downtown station is now being built and will open within the coming year.

 

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Anonymous
2 years ago

Miami was recently listed as the 10th most congested in the world, and the fifth most congested in the US, according to INRIX’s global traffic scorecard. Miami drivers spend an average of 64 hours in congestion per year during peak travel time — or nearly 10 percent of their total drive time.

Read this article it’s pretty good.
https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/27/17055616/ford-self-driving-car-miami-test-av

The last part at the end of the article, made me laugh, but it was right on point when they said:

” Miami is desperate for driverless cars because it is home to some of the world’s worst human drivers. We’re overloaded with tourists, people who drive according to the customs of their native countries, and elderly drivers. Unfamiliarity with our roads and laws exacerbates hostility already heightened by the heat and humidity, which is cruelly complicated by endless construction projects and horrid urban planning. The only thing good about being trapped in your car on I-95 or Brickell Avenue is that no one can hear you scream. ” BRO!!!LMAO

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Anonymous
2 years ago

That last paragraph bit made my day. LOL so true.

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Anonymous
2 years ago

They were thinking of me when they said ” trapped in your car on I-95 or Brickell Avenue and no one can hear you scream. ” LOL

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Luis P.
2 years ago

Gimenez in that article – Miami-Dade will continue to be at the forefront of technological advances that will improve mobility.

Not with Buses in your BRT plan.

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Miami Hurricane
2 years ago

Dead on.

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Anonymous
2 years ago

Well, Brightline is now owned by a Japanese multinational (Softbank, the same people who own Sprint, the cell phone operator). In Japan it is common for private companies to run commuter transit, so it’s only natural for the new management to suggest that.

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Alan
2 years ago

I believe SoftBank chairman’s is the Japanese gentleman that is part owner of the Marlins. Maybe they can bulld rail to the ballpark . I read an article on him recently he seems to very business savvy.

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LongMIA
2 years ago

Not Marlins, Softbank CEO is a partner in Beckham’s MLS team

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Alan
2 years ago

That’s right my bad.

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Anonymous
2 years ago

This would be FABULOUS for my Downtown to Aventura commute, the station would be right outside the mall and by extension my office

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marc
2 years ago

There’s really no competition when Brightline outright owns the ROW and will be the only company providing service to that corridor. Tri Rail will then have no new stops outside of having a platform in Downtown.

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William
2 years ago

But competition is healthy for the rail lines. Even if one is long distance and the other a local train…GO BRIGHTLINE!

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marc
2 years ago

Yes of course but what I am stating is as far as the “Coastal Link” or the ROW that runs alongside Biscayne Blvd is concerned will have no competition as there will be only Brightline. Tri-Rail runs more inland running alongside I-95.

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Anonymous
2 years ago

Yes. agreed marc. Both will serve different groups and the more attractive and more populated line will not have much competition. Though tri rail runs well and the current ridership will still be served well (especially for residents west of I95). As long as Miami Dade Transit is not running it (as witnessed by poor leadership at metrorail/bus), we will be ok.

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Anonymous
2 years ago

Brightline will be far more efficient in operating the Coastal Link than Tri-rail, probably will get it built faster and have better looking stations.

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Anonymous
2 years ago

Interesting. Makes sense but competition is the only thing that will keep the prices down.

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Anonymous
2 years ago

Yes, please. Otherwise nothing will ever happen to add new TriRail stations outside of the highly subsidized Downtown service.

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Give me a break
2 years ago

Multiple agencies and governments paid to have Tri-rail get a station platform at the new downtown Miami station. That was fine with the intention of having Tri-rail service on the FEC tracks. If Brightline runs the commuter service, much of that money is wasted as the Brightline service will likely undermine Tri-rail. Let’s be smart here, competing transit services don’t work. Just as we do not have competing highway services or competing water and sewer service.

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Anonymous
2 years ago

They see where the real money is… fleecing tax payers by running a local rail service. (and probably developing each station with free land)

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Anonymous
2 years ago

Where’s the competition if it’s not even on the radar to have new TriRail stations outside of the downtown service? Let’s be smart here, transit services on Miami’s public funds don’t work.

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Anonymous
2 years ago

Brightline will operator the coastal link far more efficiently.

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William
2 years ago

I strongly disagree. The tri rail platform at Dwtn Miami will only spur more use of the existing rail services. We paid to have a platform and the hard spur connection btw the CSX tracks and FEC’s. That by itself is a huge leap forward.

The 30k daily Tri-rail customers will now have the option of connecting with the dwtn core without additional time or cost. Tri-rail in it’s current format is just not the same with out a downtown station.

The “who” of the coastal link is important but just one component of this multi modal transportation hub. I personally like the fact that a private company will operate the local line. Especially when that company is the same one that will operate the 80mph trains on the same lines at the same time. Win-Win.

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Anonymous
2 years ago

We don’t have competing highways? What do you call I95 and the Turnpike?

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Andrewn2
2 years ago

I don’t care who runs the line. I just hope someone is wise enough to insist they all accept a common card for easy transfers. Like a SunPass for transit- multiple agencies thought the state get the tolls but we have one convenient way to pay. Chicago takes the same card for the L, buses, and commuter lines. That should be our example.

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Anonymous
2 years ago

Somehow… I feel that the taxpayers will get screwed here. and Brightline will make $$$ on some fixed $$ contract and the politicians will get a “win”.

Tri-Rail should be running the local commuter rail.

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marc
2 years ago

They’ll probably ask for subsidies to build the platforms/stops.

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Anonymous
2 years ago

I would agree with you if we were having this conversation 10 years ago but today I’m happy that we finally started to see the light at the end of the tunnel. No matter what the county will have to use taxpayers money to pay for the right to use tracks owned by Brightline’s parent company.

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Anonymous
2 years ago

They keep talking about doing things including the SMART plan but nothing ever gets done…

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Guillermo
2 years ago

Tri-Rail should add a few stops on their way to downtown. Maybe Wynwood/Midtown on 29th street or the Design District, even if Brightline runs the coastal link. Tri-Rail from downtown to Hialeah without a stop is a lost opportunity.

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Anonymous
2 years ago

Would it be better to have two, one near 36th and one near 20th?

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Anonymous
2 years ago

Was there ever any doubt that the county would pass this on to someone else to manage? Thank God for Brightline. It’s a win-win since the government has shown for decades that they are incapable or developing and managing rail transit and Brightline is investing for the long haul…

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Anonymous
2 years ago

Need a station at 163rd and Biscayne

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Anonymous
2 years ago

Ditto

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Michelle
2 years ago

Yes, I live in Sunny Isles Beach & totally agree!!!!

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TheTruth
2 years ago

Great…another “wonder idea project” that will lead to nowhere and will get scrapped in the next year or so due to the beaurocratic and corrupt people we have in office and their incompetence. We don’t have enough fingers on our hands and feet to count how many of these types of articles promising a solution and leading nowhere we’ve all read… Sadly, we’ll all be reading about this idea getting scrapped too. That’s just the typical Miami way of doing things, so please, don’t hold your breath on this..

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Anonymous
2 years ago

Brightline’s wonder project built a billion dollar plus in rail stations and infrastructures, and is putting an express train where no politician had the resolve or leadership to do. So, yes, I trust their ‘wonder idea project’, a hundred times more than stupid mayor Giménez transportation plan du jour.

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BOVO for Mayor
2 years ago

Does this mean to go north we will have to transfer to a Brightline train, or will the Metro-rail trains just run on Brightline tracks? I hope no transfer, PLEASEEEE! Enough of the mismashed transit plans.

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marc
2 years ago

Yes of course you would have to transfer to Brightline.

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Anonymous
2 years ago

Tri-Rail will still be expanding into downtown Miami as an extension of their existing service. Betancourt said that Tri-Rail’s downtown station is now being built and will open within the coming year

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Anonymous
2 years ago

bad

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