Miami-Dade’s Transportation Planning Organization voted on Thursday to study the possibility of several new mass transit options in the county.
The first resolution authorized a study on adding new People Mover systems similar to Metromover throughout the county.
The consultant running the $120,000 study will be asked to identify the top five feasible areas suitable for a People Mover system, either along or connecting to Miami-Dade’s SMART Program Corridors.
The second resolution called for the county to assess the possibility of purchasing existing rail to be repurposed for mass transit use. Specifically, the resolution mentions the under-utilized CSX tracks.
Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins told Local10 that the plan is for commuter rail in South Dade to connect to the Intermodal Center at MIA, which would then allow transfers to the Metrorail.
The proposal could also replace plans for bus rapid transit on the east-west corridor, Higgins said.
TPO chair Esteban Bovo said that CSX now appears “highly motivated” to cut a deal with the county for their tracks, the TV station reported.