Miami Intermodal Center at Miami International Airport

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west point said:
JIS: It has been too long. Was the Amtrak platforms to be at ground level? That is the way I remember.
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Of course the tracks and platforms are at ground level and not on any elevated structure.

As for the platform height, I thought the platform was built at the same height as the Tri-Rail platform, which is certainly several inches above rail head. But I have not been there nor read much about it in quite a while. So don't know for sure. I am sure we will ask Amtrak about it at the upcoming RPA Council Meeting in Alexandria.
 
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joelkfla said:
How did they turn around? I can't find a wye on Google aerial view.

That train had 4 coaches + 3 sleepers, plus the usual other stuff. Is that the longest that can platform?
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I believe there is a wye. I think the northern leg is visible in the first part of the video, it is the track branching off of the main line just after the bridge.
 
No. That video was perplexing to say the least. After some investigating I found out that there were two test runs. The first was southbound engine first. It reversed to Hialeah where it was looped and then a second run was made tail first all the way south to the airport. That then returned north engine first.

The wye has been severed by construction of the 28th Street crossing which seems like a shortsighted move. So the wye can not be used anymore.

I think the more interesting question is why was there all of the criticism of the designers when it was made public that the station was built too short for Amtrak trains. Obviously a typical full-size Silver Meteor can fit. That false debacle led to the necessity of building the 28th Street crossing which was expensive and constructed in such a way that the wye was unnecessarily severed.wye.jpgCrossing Cantilever.jpg
 
cocojacoby said:
No. That video was perplexing to say the least. After some investigating I found out that there were two test runs. The first was southbound engine first. It reversed to Hialeah where it was looped and then a second run was made tail first all the way south to the airport. That then returned north engine first.

The wye has been severed by construction of the 28th Street crossing which seems like a shortsighted move. So the wye can not be used anymore.

I think the more interesting question is why was there all of the criticism of the designers when it was made public that the station was built too short for Amtrak trains. Obviously a typical full-size Silver Meteor can fit. That false debacle led to the necessity of building the 28th Street crossing which was expensive and constructed in such a way that the wye was unnecessarily severed.View attachment 27394View attachment 27395
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Hadn’t seen those pictures. Thanks for the update.
 
This 4 mile backup move - while probably a bit of a pain - still doesn't take the cake for the most inconvenient equipment positioning move. See the Valley Flyer in Massachusetts - 40 mile deadhead positioning move for each frequency. Four times a day on weekdays. :) Does anyone know of any longer ones?
 
That wye - the connection to the north side of MIA , doesnt seem like it would be that difficult to rebuild. I mean if Brightline can build 40+ miles of Class 7 in 2 years …..
 
It really is upsetting that Amtrak keeps going along with 8 - 10 cars LD trains. Just look at the Silver Star during the Meteor cutback. That attitude is what makes it harder for the LD trains to approach break even operating costs. Any station lease should have provision that Amtrak can operate a train 19 cars + locos to the station. Now it may be that is the proposal at the airport station?
 
cocojacoby said:
I think the more interesting question is why was there all of the criticism of the designers when it was made public that the station was built too short for Amtrak trains. Obviously a typical full-size Silver Meteor can fit. That false debacle led to the necessity of building the 28th Street crossing which was expensive and constructed in such a way that the wye was unnecessarily severed.
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The current combined Star is 2 cars longer: 4 coaches + 5 sleepers (it was 5+5 for a while). If that test train filled the entire platform, the only way they could get the current consist to platform would be to move the baggage car to behind the engine, and let it and the engine block the crossing. I don't know what the longest Star or Meteor consist has been during normal peak times.
 
The south leg of the wye wouldn’t even be accessible from the Amtrak tracks at the station.

I guess Amtrak would be locking themselves into a maximum train length just to accommodate 1 platform. Pre-Covid I was on a Silver Meteor with 12 cars (5 coaches and 4 sleepers). Assuming the train pulls in coming from NY, not having platform access for the last sleeper could be an ADA issue?
 
chrsjrcj said:
The south leg of the wye wouldn’t even be accessible from the Amtrak tracks at the station.
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Absolutely no big deal having Amtrak use Tracks 1 or 2. You just have to move a few signs around or don't designate the tracks at all (i.e., just use numbers and not TriRail/Amtrak exclusivity). People should have no problem finding their train in a small four track station.

 
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chrsjrcj said:
The south leg of the wye wouldn’t even be accessible from the Amtrak tracks at the station.

I guess Amtrak would be locking themselves into a maximum train length just to accommodate 1 platform. Pre-Covid I was on a Silver Meteor with 12 cars (5 coaches and 4 sleepers). Assuming the train pulls in coming from NY, not having platform access for the last sleeper could be an ADA issue?
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Do they potentially have 2 tracks or 1? If they have 2, they could split the train as they do the Auto Train IF they back in. Or they could put the baggage car at the front, and unload/load baggage in the crossing or on the opposite side of the crossing.

Southbound trains would either need to find a wye north of the station, or have an extra engine and crew handy to split the train from the rear.

Don't know whether any of that is feasible. It would obviously involve extra cost, and delay passengers.
 
Could they just not sell tickets on any cars that are beyond the platform? For example, with the current SS consist that is 2 cars too long, they could just not sell space into Miami for the last sleeper (since the other car would be the baggage car). Given that the train is discharge only south of Okeechobee, it is unlikely to be more than half full into Miami even if it is sold out further north, so doing so wouldn't even have a significant impact on capacity. In terms of the reservation system, they could treat it just like the 321/322 coach from Chicago-St. Louis by only selling space New York-Hollywood, except in this case it wouldn't actually be removed.
 
frequentflyer said:
The new station would be in a better neighborhood and be closer to the cruise terminals.
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The new station would be located in the same building as the airport's rental car center.
Currently, you can access this station by getting off the Meteor or the Star at Hollywood and riding a Tr-Rail train into Miami Intermodal (or Airport) station. Not sure when the last Tri-Rail train runs in the evening if the Meteor is late, and when we rode down in November, the Hollywood station sure looked dark and uninviting.
 
MARC Rider said:
The new station would be located in the same building as the airport's rental car center.
Currently, you can access this station by getting off the Meteor or the Star at Hollywood and riding a Tr-Rail train into Miami Intermodal (or Airport) station. Not sure when the last Tri-Rail train runs in the evening if the Meteor is late, and when we rode down in November, the Hollywood station sure looked dark and uninviting.
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You don’t have to change at Hollywood. You could change at any Amtrak stop between WPB and Hollywood.
 

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