Amtrak will need additional rail track construction in order to serve the Miami Intermodal center, according to Miami Today.
The additional rail track is needed in order for trains to turn around and head back north, the report said.
Tri-Rail, which also operates at the MIC, uses a push-pull system that doesn’t require the additional turn around area, unlike Amtrak.
It wouldn’t be the first time that the Amtrak proposal at the MIC needed additional investment.
The Intermodal Center was built in front of Miami International Airport in 2013, with rental cars, Metrorail, Tri-Rail, Greyhound, Megabus, and Metrobus stations.
FDOT also built a platform for Amtrak with ticketing counters, a baggage room, restrooms and offices which were completed in 2015, but it was soon discovered that the platform was too short for Amtrak trains.
In 2016, FDOT completed an additional $5.6 million worth of road work to allow for the longer Amtrak trains by closing a roadway when the train is in the station and providing alternate routes for cars.
Despite the millions spent, Amtrak then demanded FDOT pay relocation costs, which FDOT partially agreed to. Amtrak later decided they didn’t like the termination clause in a proposed contract with FDOT, and abandoned plans to serve the MIC altogether, instead continuing to serve a station in nearby Hialeah.
Brightline had also expressed interest in serving the facility but there were no negotiations ongoing as of last year, FDOT said in 2022.
