Metromover Gets First Of 27 Fully Renovated Cars

The first fully renovated Metromover car has been delivered.

A total of 27 cars are being renovated and tested at a Bombardier/Alstom facility in Pennsylvania. The newly delivered car will serve as a prototype for the remaining 26 cars.

Miami-Dade County is in the middle of a $153 million project to upgrade the free downtown Miami Automated People Mover system to make it more reliable and ready for expansion.

Eulois Cleckley, Miami Dade’s Department of Transportation and Public Works Director and CEO said the county was taking an “aggressive approach to significantly improve and refurbish the system for better reliability and accessibility.”

The project includes enhancements to the operating system and guideway electrical components. It also includes a complete overhaul of the central control center and an upgrade of the track switches.

The system will become faster and more reliable following the upgrades, with increased frequencies. The ride itself will also be smoother, with acceleration and braking upgrades.

“The upgraded Metromover system will not only make it better, it will also allow the County to expand the system to offer a one-seat ride to Miami Beach and the Design District in the future,” said Commissioner Eileen Higgins

The 24-month project is expected to be complete in Summer of 2025.

 

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Anonymous
8 months ago

Incredible! Love the upgrades and can’t wait to see the new designs.

Bravo Mayor Cava and Commissioner Higgins 👏 👏 As a Miami condo owner, I am very pleased that this is part of a broader plan to bring the metro mover to Miami Beach and Design District.

I suggest we also start planning a Little Havana loop with stops at the Marlins Stadium, Calle Ocho, Riverside, Brickell and Brightline/Downtown ⚾️ 👌 🚆

Anon
8 months ago

I can see a “Miami River” loop:

-> Brickell Station

(Via 7th or 8th St)

-> Riverside / Jose Martí Park

(via 7th or 8th St)

-> Calle Ocho / Little Havana Art District

(via 7th or 8th St)

-> Marlins Stadium

(Via NW 12th Ave)

-> Wharf District / Dream Hotel area

(Via 5th St / 7th Ave Bridge)

-> Brightline / Downtown

(Vía existing line)

-> Brickell Station (full loop)

Professional Engineer
8 months ago

It’s too slow and inefficient to make a difference. Once you get into the suburbs, the metro mover would get absolutely packed every single trip. What you need is mass rapid transit. Please educate before you spew “extend metromover” comments all over the internet

Anonymous
8 months ago

We need an extension to Midtown, Little Havana, Wynwood and definitely Miami Beach!

Anonymous
8 months ago

Wynwood and Edgewater are both walkable to Midtown so I imagine a direct route north to design district would be able to reach these areas too.

BDub
8 months ago

The current plan is a spur up N Miami Avenue. For Edgewater, making it a loop back down Biscayne would make it a lot more convenient and increase ridership. It’s quite a schlep to walk from the Bay to N Miami, plus one can only cross the tracks at 20th, 27th, 29th and 36th streets.

Juan
8 months ago

I hope I live long enough to see it in Coral Gables and South Miami

Anonymous
8 months ago

Keep dreaming. Coral Gables would never allow that and I don’t blame them. Mover is intended for short distances, i.e., the Urban Core. The extension to the beach is an exception so that we don’t have yet another mode of transport.

Juan
8 months ago

Coral Gables is only 4 miles west of the Brickell, that should be doable one day if Miami is smart about where they build stations. It’ll become even more necessary as density grows southward in the grove.

Anonymous
8 months ago

That southward density growth is already served by MetroRAIL

Anonymous
8 months ago

Badly served by MetroRAIL. Unless MDT is willing to build two infill stations between Brickell and Coconut Grove, MetroMOVER seems like a smart extension if they can run express trains.

Not Anonymous
8 months ago

The stations are already close for a metro, any infills would not be any more convenient and would make the train slower and less efficient and convenient. A new lne would need to be built to serve Little Havana and CG.

Not Anonymous
8 months ago

*line

Anonymous
8 months ago

Badly serve by MetroRAIL—really means “I gotta pay for MetroRAIL–F that!”

Anonymous
8 months ago

yes. $3 as opposed to $20 for Uber

Anonymous
8 months ago

Metrorail should be extending down from Miami Airport to Douglas Road station, with stops in between. That would connect the Gables better.

Anonymous
8 months ago

why, when there’s already a Metrorail line running a few miles away parallel to that? There are areas with far greater need than that.

Anonymous
8 months ago

“The extension to the beach is an exception” because I want a free shortbus to spring break parties.

Anonymous
8 months ago

I think it’s more about tourists. People should be able to visit Miami and not have to rent a car.

Not Anonymous
8 months ago

This is what the Metrorail is for. The Mover is for Downtown. It would make infinitely more sense for there to be a local tram service down Ponce, 8 street and Miracle mile, with connections to UM and it’s Metrorail station and the Brickell station at the end of Little Havana.

Anonymous
8 months ago

Then why are being circlej**king about extending it to Miami Beach, Wynwood, and Riverside, clearly outside of downtown or even greater downtown for that matter?

Anonymous
8 months ago

Greater Downtown boundaries are defined by the DDA as from the Julia Tuttle to the Rickenbacker Causeway east of I-95

Anonymous
8 months ago

Wynwood/Midtown/Edgewater is clearly part of the greater downtown. It is very obvious to most people familiar with the area that the Mover should be extended here.

Anonymous
8 months ago

SoMi and CG have the MetroRail.

Anonymous
8 months ago

Extension to little river.

Anonymous
8 months ago

Hopefully they add a 2nd car to the Brickell Loop during peak hours. No reason the inner loop should have 2 and Brickell 1.

Melo is sigma and Chad
8 months ago

The metromover bridge over the river cant support two cars.

Anonymous
8 months ago

They need to upgrade it so that it can or add more frequency then. The Brickell loop cars are too crowded now.

Anon
8 months ago

is this a fact? why are the station platforms built to support 2 cars?

Anonymous
8 months ago

Why wouldn’t it be able to?

Melo is sigma and Chad
8 months ago

the incline of the bridge and the weight limits. they would have to build a new bridge to support it.

Anonymous
8 months ago

From what I’ve read, it’s the Metromover cars themselves not being powerful enough to go over the incline with full capacity. The bridge itself is strong enough. I remember years ago being on two car Brickell Loop trains and it being a hard chug up that bridge both ways.

Frankonymous
8 months ago

Source?

Anonymous
8 months ago

Demand in the Brickell loop will more than double with the completion of three major office towers during the next 5 years. The new metromover cars appear to have more power and should be able to handle the bridge. The stations are designed to support the two car system.

Anonymous
8 months ago

Fail from the start; should have ungraded the whole system with new longer cars instead of polishing beer cans.

Lázaro
8 months ago

Cava for governor!! She’s been a strong proponent for mass transit

Anonymous
8 months ago

💯

Not Anonymous
8 months ago

Unfortunately, she won’t stand a chance in this f*cked up state, it is impossible for a Dem to win.

Anonymous
8 months ago

Miami loves her! She’s among the best. You didn’t know that Florida is a purple state? We have a lot of independents that favor policy over politics.

Anonymous
8 months ago

I understand why, but they can swing back, especially with these anti-free speech laws and enforcement. The Republican who wrote the “don’t say gay” bill just plead guilty to COVID relief fraud 🤦‍♀️ In my lifetime, I have seen politicians smear other politicians, but never an entire population and class of people like this… Power unchecked is never good 😞

Anonymous
8 months ago

There’s more to governance than just promoting mass transit. Especially considering most Floridians live in smaller metros and suburban/rural areas and mass transit isn’t near the top of their list of issues.

Anonymous
8 months ago

Most Floridians live in South Florida, in the Miami Metropolitan Area (Broward to Palm Beach County)… plus Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville.

Anonymous
8 months ago

Herp derp, extend Metromover to Orlando.

Anonymous
8 months ago

Jacksonville is dying for public transit? LOLOLOLOLOLOL ever been in their “rush hour”?

Anonymous
8 months ago

Like not targeting businesses and promoting a free and just society.

Anonymous
8 months ago

What has Cava actually done besides be a cheerleader? Last time I checked, these proposals already existed, and she is still among 15 commissioners.

Anon
8 months ago

Any shots of the interior?

Anonymous
8 months ago

E
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Anonymous
8 months ago

I hope they added poles as, when it’s crowded, it’s impossible to grab onto anything.

anonymous
8 months ago

thats what she said

Melo is sigma and Chad
8 months ago

They need tp triple car the inner and omni loop for events.

Juan
8 months ago

Triple cars should just be standard, all the platforms are long enough for that.

Miami Man
8 months ago

Let’s hope that they also include some of these funds to ‘correctly’ paint the sides of the overhead mover car guideway, which has so much pealing paint and rust on it that it’s an embarrassment to the Metromover system and downtown Miami.

Anonymous
8 months ago

Agree stations need major aesthetic upgrades and modernization, especially Brickell Station.

Anon
8 months ago

I hope they can make it more efficient to get to Brickell from Downtown; coming back is great, getting there is overly complicated. Also, def would love the Wynnwood and Miami Beach options!

Anonymous
8 months ago

How about fixing the broken elevator at 5th street station?

Anonymous
8 months ago

Miami-dade prefers to just announce the broken elevator over the PA on repeat instead of fixing it

Anonymous
8 months ago

Renovating 40-year-old dinky little cars? Seriously? How is this going to help with traffic? You will need new, longer cars that can make three-car trains minimum to be a viable transit system for extensions beyond Greater Downtown Miami.

Anonymous YIMBY
8 months ago

Metromover should expand access west from Government Station to LoanDepot Park. It’s only a mile away. Ideally, you could then connect to future MLS stadium and airport next door, but I realize we are short on vision in this city when it comes to public transportation.

Anon
8 months ago

We have the MetroRail connection to the airport. This is like my “Miami River” loop route idea above.

laingman
8 months ago

What does fully renovated mean?

Realtalk Reilly
8 months ago

It means they fully scraped all the chewing gum off from under the seats and put the cars back in service.

Professional Engineer
8 months ago

if they expand the metromover, where are they placing the flyovers? Biscayne blvd? second avenue? right in the heart of wynwood? Im sure these folks would be thrilled to have have massive concrete columns in front of their businesses…

Anonymous
8 months ago

Why would they not want more foot traffic? Do you know how business works?

Professional Engineer
8 months ago

Do you even live in Miami? every business with the metro mover flyovers in front of their business performs horribly..

Anonymous
8 months ago

Have you been to Brickell? Mary Brickell Village? Friends? Latin Cafe? Burgermeister? What are you even talking about?

Strong Towns
8 months ago

Can you imagine having outdoor dinning and the metro mover going over you. There’s a reason why the majority of the metro mover goes behind parking garages and there’s no businesses under the lines. It destroys walkability and takes away the entire side walk.

Professional Engineer
8 months ago

Are the strong towns from YouTube? You should make a video about it. Love your stuff!

Strong Towns
8 months ago

Really hope the metro mover doesn’t get extended. It’s a poor/lazy design used when the city was not as extensive. A proper city needs a proper metro system that covers large part of the urban area. How can a city be taken seriously when our mass transport is basically an elevated short bus. Give me the dislikes, but you know is true.

Melito
8 months ago

Fidel!

Melo, the true giga Chad
8 months ago

That’s pretty anti sesual wit it

Melo, the true giga Chad
8 months ago

*sorry typo. That’s pretty harsh to call a short bus. A gadget bahn people mover like airports.

Avid Mover Rider
8 months ago

Love this news. Can’t wait for this system to expand all the way to the Design District.

wanderer34
8 months ago

A lot of people don’t understand that the main purpose of the Metromover is to transport commuters through Brickell and Downtown to and from Gov’t Center and Brickell Metrorail Stations, not for longer distances to Miami Beach and the Design District. It’s currently free, but it’s one thing to go to the Design District, but it’s another to see the Metromover extend 5-6 miles to South Beach.

I don’t see the Metromover coming to fruition only because the NIMBYs in Miami Beach will kill the project! I’d love to see a Metrorail expansion to Miami Beach someday, and eventually expansions to Southland, Kendall, Coral Gables, Doral, University Park (FIU), Key Biscayne & Aventura but using the Metromover as the basis of a major expansion for Miami Dade Transit is a short sighted approach.

The Miami Beach Metromover expansion needs to be killed only because it doesn’t carry a lot of people unlike the Metrorail and it’s too “pie-in-the-sky” to see how such a project will remain free while traveling a long 5-6 mile distance to and from Miami Beach! I’d rather see the money used for the North extension as well as major improvements for the Metrorail system!

Anonymous
8 months ago

You lack vision and common sense.

wanderer34
8 months ago

https://www.miamitodaynews.com/2014/10/29/planners-sidetrack-streetcar-plan/

https://account.miamiherald.com/paywall/stop?resume=110930867#storylink=rss

http://transitmiami.com/baylink/

What it seems like you don’t understand is that the streetcar plan was killed thanks to Miami Beach voters. A plan to extend the Metrorail was also killed because according to the residents, “it would kill the vibe in South Beach”. Other plans such as light rail and even a monorail were also scuttled.

It’s not my call as to whether Miami Beach residents want a mass transit system or not but it’s the residents, and you can say whatever you want, and this has nothing to do with my vision or yours, but Miami Beach voters are making the decision to kill whatever mass transit project Miami Dade transit proposes.

Even a Metromover extension to 5th and Alton won’t make it because it’s the voters, not because of a few who post here. I’m pretty sure a majority of us want a mass transit system to reach Miami Beach, but Miami Beach residents don’t want a mass transit system, which is why it’s best to focus on the mainland than Miami Beach for mass transit extensions.

Anonymous
8 months ago

No, a lot of people HERE on this blog don’t understand. You can tell their lives revolve around free public transport to bars and clubs. The rest of the world understands your point.

Lechozo
8 months ago

Nothing wrong with charging a fare for the extensions.

Professional Engineer
8 months ago

Exactly! The “extend the metro mover crowd” are a bunch of children that don’t understand what proper transit works

Anonymous
8 months ago

I give them a week in service until becoming homeless urinals again.

Anonymous
8 months ago

Wondering if the comments here are are by douchebag real estate people or folks invested in the concept of community?

Anonymous
8 months ago

You sound fun.

Still Waiting
8 months ago

All of this is fine, but when will we be getting our North Corridor to the stadium. That’s what Miami Dade Residents need.

Anonymous
8 months ago

The new transit director is the best, hands down.

MiamiCityMan
8 months ago

How many cars can you put together? Up to three?

Adrian
8 months ago

It would be nice if they could have open gangways between cars to maximize space and allow for people to move from car to car.