SFRTA begins testing Tri-Rail trains on FEC Tracks

June 20, 2023

Brightline has provided authorization for Tri-Rail trains to enter the MiamiCentral Station as part of the testing in preparation for the anticipated start of Tri-Rail service directly into downtown Miami.

SFRTA has begun testing Tri-Rail equipment and train SFRTA personnel on the FEC Railway tracks in preparation for the anticipated start of Tri-Rail service directly into Downtown Miami.

The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority (SFRTA) has begun testing Tri-Rail equipment and train SFRTA personnel on the Florida East Coast (FEC) Railway tracks in preparation for the anticipated start of Tri-Rail service directly into downtown Miami. Concurrently, Brightline has provided authorization for Tri-Rail trains to enter the MiamiCentral Station as part of the testing.

“The day has arrived where the first Tri-Rail train will run directly into downtown Miami and into the MiamiCentral Station for testing, thanks to the great partnership we have established with FEC and Brightline,” said Commissioner Raquel Regalado, SFRTA Governing Board chair. “This is yet another momentous occasion, marking the progress of the work that has been in the making for a very long time.”

During testing, which began June 19 and will end June 23, the trains will change tracks from the South Florida Rail Corridor where Tri-Rail operates, onto the FEC tracks just south of the Metrorail Transfer Station. Trains will be limited to travel no faster than 40 mph on the approximate eight miles of tracks, starting from Hialeah eastbound and onto the east-west portion of tracks currently in use by FEC freight trains only, then continue to bend south in the neighborhood of Little River to the FEC tracks currently in use by Brightline.

Personnel onboard the test trains will be limited to railroad staff and contractors, including a Brightline qualified engineer that will provide training to SFRTA train crews. Variable message signs are in place at 12 crossings along the east-west segment of tracks to alert drivers and pedestrians of the additional train activity, with SFRTA personnel handing out flyers with safety tips.

The full stretch of FEC tracks where Tri-Rail trains are being tested will operate by the communities of Hialeah, Gladeview, Liberty City, Little River, Little Haiti, Upper East Side, Morningside, Buena Vista, Miami Design District, Midtown, Edgewater, Wynwood, Omni, Overtown, Park West and downtown.

SFRTA may request additional dates to be considered for testing.