Metrorail

Metrorail
A Metrorail train at Government Center
Info
Type	Rapid transit
Locale	Miami
Termini	Palmetto (north) Dadeland South (south)
Stations	22
Daily ridership	67,000 [1]
Operation
Opened	May 20, 1984
Owner	Miami-Dade County
Operator(s)	Miami-Dade Transit
Character	Elevated and at-grade
Rolling stock	136 Budd cars
Technical
Line length	22.4 miles (36.0 km)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Electrification	Third rail
Operating speed	66 miles per hour (106 km/h)
Route map Metrorail Legend Palmetto (SR 826) Okeechobee Hialeah Tri-Rail (transfer to Tri-Rail) Northside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza Brownsville Airport (MIA via MIC; opening in 2012) (Miami River) (SR 112) Earlington Heights (SR 112/I-195) Allapattah Santa Clara Civic Center (I-395) Culmer (I-95) Historic Overtown/Lyric Theatre Government Center (transfer to Metromover) (Miami River) Brickell (transfer to Metromover) (I-95) Vizcaya Coconut Grove Douglas Road University South Miami Dadeland North (SR 878) Dadeland South

Metrorail is the principal rapid transit system operated by Miami-Dade Transit in Miami, Florida, serving the immediate Miami metropolitan area.

Currently operating on a 22.4 miles of rail line, it is Florida's sole metro system. Due to South Florida's high water table (see Biscayne Aquifer), the entire system is elevated or at-grade. Running from Medley in northwest Miami-Dade to Kendall in southern Miami-Dade, Metrorail is one of only two heavy rail rapid transit systems in the Southeastern United States (the other system being MARTA in Atlanta).

History

Metrorail viaduct under construction along South Dixie Highway in Coral Gables during the early 1980s.
Credit: Florida Photographic Collection

In 1971, a study completed by the Miami Urban Area Transportation Study (MUATS) recommended the construction for a rapid transit system for the county; having experienced a prolonged post-World War II population boom, Dade County's permanent population rose by 35% to nearly 1.7 million residents within a decade.^[2] Within a year of the study, county residents approved a $132.5 million ($674.9 million, adjusted for current inflation) bond dedicated to transit, with additional funding approved by the Florida Legislature for transit which, up until that time, operated solely on fare revenue. In 1976, with preliminary engineering completed for the system, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA, then, the Urban Mass Transit Administration) committed 80% of the costs for the first stage of rapid transit system, with the county and state incurring the remaining cost.

In April 1979, the Interstate Commerce Commission ratified an agreement between the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) and Dade County to transfer the then-FEC right-of-way along US 1 to Miami-Dade Transit, then named the Metro Transit Agency (MTA), with groundbreaking for the system the county commission voted to be named "Metrorail" taking place at the site of what would become University Station in June. Construction began in December 1980 with placing of a double-tee guideway girder near the University of Miami. In June 1983, the first segment of Metrorail from Dadeland South to Overtown (now "Historic Overtown/Lyric Theatre") was completed with the construction of the Miami River bridge, with free first-day service from Pinecrest to Overtown commencing May 20, 1984 with over 125,000 riders.

Additional segments opened subsequently in December 1984 to Earlington Heights Station and to Okeechobee Station in May 1985. In March 1989, temporary station was opened to provide a connection to the newly-opened Tri-Rail commuter rail line, with the station officially opening in June of that year. Preliminary engineering for a rapid transit extension to the Palmetto Expressway began in 1996 with Palmetto Station opening in May 2003.

Construction on Metrorail's 23rd station at the Miami International Airport's Miami Intermodal Center began in May 2009, with service projected to begin in late 2011/early 2012.^[3][4]

Fares and service

The current standard fare on Metrorail is $2.00 and reduced fare is $1.00. A standard monthly pass costs $100 and $50 for reduced fare. The monthly EASY Cards are sold at over 50 sales outlets. Reduced fares are available only to Medicare recipients, people with disabilities, and Miami-Dade students in grades 1-12. Ticket Vending Machines (TVMs) that sell EASY Cards and EASY Tickets are found in all rail stations. All Miami-Dade senior citizens aged 65 years and older and with Social Security benefits, and Veterans residing in Miami-Dade and earning less than $22,000 annually ride free with the reduced fare monthly EASY Card.

On July 16, 2008, Miami-Dade Transit announced that it would be replacing all fare collection methods with the EASY Card system by late 2009. The system replaces the old cash-/token-based system with one that makes riding transit easier than ever by automatically deducting fares at Metrorail fare gates from a reloadable card.^[5][6][7] The final station to start fare gate installation was Government Center on August 2, 2009 ^[8]. Since the system launch on October 1, 2009, all passengers utilizing Metrorail must use either an EASY Card or EASY Ticket to enter stations.^[9]

Metrorail runs regularly from 5 a.m. until midnight seven days a week. Trains arrive every 8 minutes during weekday rush hours, every 15 minutes at midday, and every 15–30 minutes after 6 p.m. until midnight. Weekend service runs every 30 minutes until midnight. For a brief period from 2003 to April 2004 there was 24-hour service; between midnight and 5 a.m., trains arrived every 60 minutes.

A limited-stop bus route, Route 500 Midnight Owl, operates hourly between 12:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. trip between Dadeland South and Government Center Metrorail stations. This bus service replaces the 24-hour Metrorail service cancelled due to a lack of ridership.

Train and track information

A northbound Metrorail train approaching Government Center Station. Museum Tower is in the background.

Metrorail runs from the northwest in Medley through Hialeah, into the city of Miami, the downtown area, through Coral Gables and South Miami, and ending in southwest Miami-Dade at Dadeland Mall. There are 22 accessible Metrorail stations, one about every 1.25 miles (or 1.9 kilometers). Metrorail connects to the Metromover system at Government Center and Brickell stations and to South Florida's Tri-Rail suburban system at the Tri-Rail Station (see below).

Trains are stored at the Palmetto Yard just west of Okeechobee Station. The yard houses 136 cars built by the Budd Company; Miami-Dade's subway cars were among the last orders Budd filled before shuttering its railcar manufacturing business. The cars are identical to those used on the Baltimore Metro(save for the modifications made to Baltimore's cars during their refurbishment in 2005), as the two systems were built at the same time, and the two agencies were able to save money by sharing a single order.

Along the Metrorail system, the tracks are mostly elevated. Three sections are not: under I-95 between Vizcaya and Brickell stations, under I-95 just east of Culmer station, and from just east of the Palmetto Expressway heading west into the Palmetto station and tail track. In each of these cases, the tracks ride on ground level for a brief amount of time.

The platform at each Metrorail station is long enough to accommodate six-car-long trains; the Dadeland North and Government Center station platforms are long enough to accommodate eight-car-long trains. In-service trains are usually either four or six cars long; in the evening it is not uncommon for Miami-Dade Transit to link two out-of-service trains together before returning them to Palmetto Yard.

Future plans

Government Center Station is Miami's central metro station, as well as Downtown Miami's main station. Transfers can be made to all three Metromover loops and all intercity Metrobus lines.

By 2020, when Metrorail's Orange Line is scheduled for completion, the Metrorail network will serve Miami International Airport, Florida International University and LandShark Stadium (see The Orange Line). Long-term plans exist to extend the system so it serves more of Coral Gables, as well as entering western Kendall, and Aventura. These plans have been put into indefinite hold as crucial federal funding for such projects has been revoked for the time being.

Stations

Current stations

Travel times provided are approximate for travel to/from Government Center in Downtown Miami; additional station, passenger, and transfer information available on respective Wiki pages:

Number	Station		Time	Opened	Average weekday boardings (Sep. 2009)[10]!
1	Palmetto		29 min	May 30, 2003	1,365
2	Okeechobee		26 min	May 19, 1985	1,092
3	Hialeah		23 min	May 19, 1985	2,431
4	Tri-Rail		22 min	June 5, 1989	1,393
5	Northside		20 min	May 18, 1985	2,000
6	Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Plaza		19 min	May 19, 1985	1,786
7	Brownsville		14 min	May 19, 1985	919
8	Earlington Heights		13 min	December 17, 1984	1,678
9	Allapattah		12 min	December 17, 1984	1,766
10	Santa Clara		7 min	December 17, 1984	872
11	Civic Center		6 min	December 17, 1984	5,894
12	Culmer		4 min	December 17, 1984	1,549
13	Historic Overtown/Lyric Theatre		< 1 min	May 20, 1984	1,717
14	Government Center		0 min	May 20, 1984	7,832
15	Brickell		1 min	May 20, 1984	3,550
16	Vizcaya		5 min	May 20, 1984	1,204
17	Coconut Grove		8 min	May 20, 1984	1,933
18	Douglas Road		10 min	May 20, 1984	3,495
19	University		13 min	May 20, 1984	2,002
20	South Miami		15 min	May 20, 1984	3,118
21	Dadeland North		19 min	May 20, 1984	4,750
22	Dadeland South		20 min	May 20, 1984	7,168

Future stations

• Airport Station

Projects

• The Miami-Dade County Government is working with the Citizens Independent Transportation Trust to receive money from the half-penny sur-tax approved by voters in 2002 in order to purchase new Metrorail cars.

Metrorail extensions

• The first segment of Orange Line, Metrorail's expansion to northern and western Miami-Dade County, began in June 2009; service to Miami International Airport is scheduled to begin in 2012.

See also

• List of rapid transit systems
• List of United States railroads
• List of Florida railroads

References

1. ^ Miami-Dade County Transit's $72.9 million system to curb fare evasion
2. ^ http://www.censusscope.org/us/s12/c86/chart_popl.html
3. ^ http://www.miamidade.gov/transit/corridor/mic-e_corridor/mic-e_home.asp
4. ^ http://www.miamiherald.com/460/story/1028513.html
5. ^ http://www.miamidade.gov/transit/advisories/08-07-14-easy_card_google.asp
6. ^ http://miamidade.gov/wps/PA_1_TC5RNSJDM7JC0027AB79NQ10L5/ondemand_view.jsp?itemid=47503
7. ^ http://www.miamidade.gov/transit/library/pdfs/misc/easy_card_brochure011209.pdf
8. ^ http://www.miamidade.gov/transit/library/pdfs/misc/govt_center_easyc_fcs_install_flyer.pdf
9. ^ http://www.miamidade.gov/transit/library/easy_card/conga_line_letter_size.pdf
10. ^ http://www.miamidade.gov/transit/library/pdfs/rtr/2009-09_Ridership_Technical_Report.pdf

External links

• [Easy Card Fare Collection.http://www.co.miami-dade.fl.us/transit/home.asp]
• Miami-Dade Transit
• Metrorail Homepage
• "Miami Metrorail Project Receives Big Federal Boost". The Miami Herald. http://www.masstransitmag.com/article/article.jsp?siteSection=3&id=468. Retrieved 2007-04-28. .
• http://www.miamidade.gov/transit/library/pdfs/corridor/n/master_developer/Forum_Save_The_Date_Flyer.pdf Master Developer Forum flyer - shows names of projected stations on North Corridor Extension
• Newtwork Map (to scale)