Miami Intermodal Center at Miami International Airport

[edjbox]

Virginia Beach has Amtrak service in both nearby Norfolk and Newport News VA via the Northeast Regional

 

[Palmetto]

SFRTA is touting that a person can now go between West Palm Beach and Florida City without using a car or a taxi. It's an epic journey, though: Tri-Rail to MIC, Metrorail to its southern terminus at Dadeland South, and finally Metrobus to Florida City on the busway.

Meh, if they truly want to impress me, have them give me a call when I can board in Jacksonville and hop off in Key West again.

I'm not trying to impress you. I'm just stating what is possible in South Florida according to the SFRTA. I don't think you'll ever find the SFRTA involved in something up in Jacksonville, either. You'll have to push your representative to do something about a Jacksonville-Key West itinerary.

 

[user 1215]

SFRTA is touting that a person can now go between West Palm Beach and Florida City without using a car or a taxi. It's an epic journey, though: Tri-Rail to MIC, Metrorail to its southern terminus at Dadeland South, and finally Metrobus to Florida City on the busway.

Meh, if they truly want to impress me, have them give me a call when I can board in Jacksonville and hop off in Key West again.

Could you have been alive the last time that was available?

It would be nice, though...

 

[jis]

I can almost bet that JAX to Key West by rail won't happen before south Florida is overrun by the ocean.

 

[Palmetto]

I can almost bet that JAX to Key West by rail won't happen before south Florida is overrun by the ocean.

Truer words were never spoken!

 

[chrsjrcj]

Took a trip today down to MIC (that's what the conductor called it...."Miami Airport MIC station"). My first time at the station since the MIA Mover and Metrorail opened. Really cool station. The MIA mover is quite fun and you can stand up front to get a "driver's side" view.

Right now only one platform (two tracks is open), but the other platform actually has Amtrak signage (the one that is open just has Tri-Rail). I'll post a few pictures later.

 

[chrsjrcj]

SFRTA is touting that a person can now go between West Palm Beach and Florida City without using a car or a taxi. It's an epic journey, though: Tri-Rail to MIC, Metrorail to its southern terminus at Dadeland South, and finally Metrobus to Florida City on the busway.

I met a family a few years ago who took the Busway from Homestead to Dadeland South, Metrorail from Dadeland South to Tri-Rail transfer station, and Tri-Rail from the Metrorail transfer station to West Palm Beach. They were going to check out CityPlace. I think it's a 3 or 4 hour trip, but they seemed to be in good spirits.

 

[chrsjrcj]

A few months later but here are some pics I took today. Looks like they have a small Amtrak waiting room, with a ticket counter and restrooms. Sits empty (for how long?). Don't see any work at the railroad crossing that Amtrak trains would block if they were too long. I wonder if this move is dead.

Amtrak trains will use platform two (currently used for some Tri-Rail train arrivals during during rush hour). There is Amtrak signage for the platform and waiting room.

 

[Bob Dylan]

What a shame this jewel isn't already in use by Amtrak trains but oh so typical of Amtrak!!

 

[MattW]

So will there still be a Kindergarten walk?

 

[afigg]

A few months later but here are some pics I took today. Looks like they have a small Amtrak waiting room, with a ticket counter and restrooms. Sits empty (for how long?). Don't see any work at the railroad crossing that Amtrak trains would block if they were too long. I wonder if this move is dead.

Thanks for the photo update. Looks like it will be a nice waiting room and setup for Amtrak. It was stated in news articles when TriRail started operating at the Miami Airport Station that Amtrak would move there in 2016. The delay in modifying or moving the road crossings may be due to waiting on permits and approvals from various local agencies and boards. Never underestimate how long the bureaucratic process can take when it comes to station projects.

 

[niemi24s]

It's quite easy to understand the problem of long trains blocking NW 25th Street if the area is viewed on Google Earth:



The only unknowns to me are the lengths of the Silver Star & Meteor and how much track might be under the canopy at the ends of the tracks. In addition, it appears the closest place to reverse the direction of the trains is the loop at the present station, which is about 3.7 miles away to the north.

Sorry if this has all been covered before - didn't take the time to read through this lengthy thread.

 

[jis]

I suspect that as long as the Silvers are limited to something like10 cars + 2 engines they do not infringe on the grade crossing. Anything longer than that does. The problem is typically they may be longer and certainly so if they are carrying a few PV along for the ride.

The only real solution would appear to be to have NW 25th Street be put on an overpass across the railroads between 37th Ave and 39th Ave and shutting down that grade crossing. Which of course most likely won;t happen.

There seems to be lack of platform beyond the grade crossing too if I am not mistaken.

 

[Alex M.]

If they decide to split the trains at JAX with the west coast sections going on to Tampa, would the east coast sections be short enough to be regularly accommodated at Miami?

 

[keelhauled]

Even if it takes another five years to figure out Miami station I'm pretty sure that would still be faster than the process of setting up both Silvers to split in Jacksonville.

 

[PRR 60]

I believe the final decision regarding the length of Amtrak trains was that if the Amtrak train blocked NW 25th Street, traffic would be directed around the blocked crossing to use the NW 31st Street crossing. That crossing is less than 1/2 mile away.

 

[jis]

I believe the final decision regarding the length of Amtrak trains was that if the Amtrak train blocked NW 25th Street, traffic would be directed around the blocked crossing to use the NW 31st Street crossing. That crossing is less than 1/2 mile away.

I think they will need to add some platform infrastructure on the north side of the grade crossing if they really expect trains to stick out there. I don;t think FRA will look kindly to using the gravel as the general platform for cars that hang out there.

If they decide to split the trains at JAX with the west coast sections going on to Tampa, would the east coast sections be short enough to be regularly accommodated at Miami?

I am quite certain that they will not decide to split trains to send one section to terminate in Tampa. The days of terminating an LD train in Tampa are well behind us, and is unlikely to come back unless Florida decides to fund such, which is unlikely. OTOH, splitting trains in JAX for sending a section down the FEC is within the realm of possibilities, and such second section would most likely terminate in the AAF Miami Central and not MIC at Miami Airport. Of course how they get the consist from Miami Central to Hialeah will still remain a bit of an issue, but not entirely insurmountable one, since Tri-Rail is supposed to be building the necessary link for its trains to reach Miami Central from the Tr-Rail corridor.

 

[niemi24s]

There seems to be lack of platform beyond the grade crossing too if I am not mistaken.

Google Earth imagery dated Dec 2014 confirms that, but there is room to add about 430 more feet to the easternmost platform if the crossing at grade could be elevated. And I'm guessing having the road go under the tracks is not an option at that location. Google Earth also shows evidence of a wye immediately north of the station, but its southern leg has been dismantled. That wye, if intact, would be an ideal place to reverse a trains direction.

 

[west point]

NW 25th street cannot bridge over the tracks because that elevation is now taken by Metro Rail tracks. Correct about no platform north of 25th street. The RR tracks cannot be raised due to encroaching into the MIA airport glide path of runway 27. Also tracks have to stay ground level due to connection track for CSX freight tracks to the Homestead branch.

 

[AmtrakLKL]

No doubt the new station is a fantastic improvement over the current one in terms of location, connections, rental cars, etc. Unfortunately, it will probably increase the operating loses for the Star and Meteor. Ridership will certainly go up some, but the trains will have to deadhead to/from Hialeah with the OBS and T&E crews, meaning an earlier on-duty time and later off-duty time for everyone involved. Depending on a variety of factors, they may even need an additional yard crew to handle the extra moves.

I believe the final decision regarding the length of Amtrak trains was that if the Amtrak train blocked NW 25th Street, traffic would be directed around the blocked crossing to use the NW 31st Street crossing. That crossing is less than 1/2 mile away.

I've been down there myself and was surprised at the amount of traffic on NW 25th St. That said, I don't see businesses being cut-off if the crossing is blocked. Traffic can go south about four blocks to NW 21st St or north to River Dr. The crossing will only be blocked for trains longer than 10 cars and two engines, which is about 990 feet. Right now, the Meteor is running with 11 cars for the summer and will do so during the Thanksgiving and Christmas peaks. The Star, well... it just keeps getting shorter. So you are looking at a 20 - 30 minute closure twice a day. The morning closure will be pretty predictable. The afternoon closure will have a bit more variability.

If they decide to split the trains at JAX with the west coast sections going on to Tampa, would the east coast sections be short enough to be regularly accommodated at Miami?

I am quite certain that they will not decide to split trains to send one section to terminate in Tampa. The days of terminating an LD train in Tampa are well behind us, and is unlikely to come back unless Florida decides to fund such, which is unlikely. OTOH, splitting trains in JAX for sending a section down the FEC is within the realm of possibilities, and such second section would most likely terminate in the AAF Miami Central and not MIC at Miami Airport. Of course how they get the consist from Miami Central to Hialeah will still remain a bit of an issue, but not entirely insurmountable one, since Tri-Rail is supposed to be building the necessary link for its trains to reach Miami Central from the Tr-Rail corridor.

There is a connection track (Mission Spur) just north of West Palm Beach that connects the SFRTA and FEC. On the FEC side, the track only connects southbound. The plan for bringing trains down the FEC called for adding a north connection, crossing the trains over and down via the existing stations, terminating at the same Miami station. It would not fly to have two Amtrak stations a couple blocks apart in every city from West Palm to Miami. There was some work going on recently at the Mission Spur. They've removed the north leg of the wye on the SFRTA side. Don't know if that was done in conjunction with some road work in the area or a project on the spur itself.

 

[PRR 60]

From the Miami Herald, January 27, 2015:

In January 2013, FDOT acknowledged that it learned only after construction began that the Amtrak trains would be longer than expected. So the platform built to serve Amtrak was about 200 feet too short, meaning that some trains would jut north into busy Northwest 25th Street.

To fix that, FDOT settled on keeping Northwest 25th Street open with the caveat that it will close for up to 45 minutes twice a day during peak seasons when long Amtrak trains arrive. To reroute traffic around delays, FDOT agreed to build two short new streets in the area as alternate routes.

Miami Herald

 

[railbuck]

I think they will need to add some platform infrastructure on the north side of the grade crossing if they really expect trains to stick out there. I don;t think FRA will look kindly to using the gravel as the general platform for cars that hang out there.

Wouldn't they just not open the doors on those cars, and send the pax forward a car or two to deboard on the platform?

The problem is typically they may be longer and certainly so if they are carrying a few PV along for the ride.

The PVs might have to be dropped at, or deboarded at, the present station.

 

[niemi24s]

NW 25th street cannot bridge over the tracks because that elevation is now taken by Metro Rail tracks.

Can't believe I didn't see that - it's as plain as can be on Google Earth. And now that I look at it as bit more, I can see where running NW 25th St. under the tracks would be a real problem - if not because of the ground water level but all the adjacent parking lot entrances. Yup, detouring traffic is the only reasonable solution.

What's the drawback with restoring the south leg of the wye to turn the trains? It's turnout is still there (at least as of last December) and it's only 570 feet north of NW 25th St. But, like most of my ideas of late, there's probably a good reason why that's a bad idea. Maybe something to do with what happens to the Silvers at the present station after the new one is put into use?

 

[PRR 60]

I believe the final decision regarding the length of Amtrak trains was that if the Amtrak train blocked NW 25th Street, traffic would be directed around the blocked crossing to use the NW 31st Street crossing. That crossing is less than 1/2 mile away.

I think they will need to add some platform infrastructure on the north side of the grade crossing if they really expect trains to stick out there. I don;t think FRA will look kindly to using the gravel as the general platform for cars that hang out there.

They could do the NJ Transit trick and, if needed, have passengers in the last car or two walk forward to exit. Since MIA is the end of the line, it's not like the cars are full coming in or heading out.

 

[jis]

I believe the final decision regarding the length of Amtrak trains was that if the Amtrak train blocked NW 25th Street, traffic would be directed around the blocked crossing to use the NW 31st Street crossing. That crossing is less than 1/2 mile away.

I think they will need to add some platform infrastructure on the north side of the grade crossing if they really expect trains to stick out there. I don;t think FRA will look kindly to using the gravel as the general platform for cars that hang out there.

They could do the NJ Transit trick and, if needed, have passengers in the last car or two walk forward to exit. Since MIA is the end of the line, it's not like the cars are full coming in or heading out.

That's true. It is sad that even when we build absolutely new infrastructure we have to resort to such third world-like workarounds.