Metrorail (Miami)

Metrorail
A northbound Green Line train arriving at Government Center with Downtown Miami skyscrapers in the background
Background
Locale	Miami-Dade County
Transit type	Rapid transit
Number of lines	Green Line   Orange Line
Number of stations	23
Daily ridership	28.6 million (2012 annual, with Metromover)[2]
Website	Metrorail
Operation
Began operation	May 20, 1984 (May 20, 1984)
Operator(s)	Miami-Dade Transit (MDT)
Train length	4 car trainsets
Headway	3½ - 5 minutes (rush hour)
Technical
System length	24.4 miles (39.3 km)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Average speed	27 mph (43 km/h) - 31 mph (50 km/h)[3]
Top speed	58 mph (93 km/h)[3]
System map Metrorail Miami routes (interactive version)

Metrorail, colloquially called the Metro, is the heavy rail rapid transit system of Miami, Florida, United States, serving the Greater Miami area. Metrorail is operated by Miami-Dade Transit (MDT), a departmental agency of Miami-Dade County. Opened in 1984, it is Florida's only rapid transit metro system, and is currently composed of two lines of 23 stations on 24.4 miles (39.3 km) of standard gauge track.

Metrorail serves the urban core of Miami, connecting the urban centers of Miami International Airport, the Civic Center, Downtown Miami, and Brickell with the northern developed neighborhoods of Hialeah and Medley to the northwest, and to suburban The Roads, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, and South Miami, ending at urban Dadeland in Kendall. Metrorail connects to the Metromover in Downtown, which provides metro service to the entirety of Downtown and Brickell. Additionally, it connects to South Florida's commuter rail system at Tri-Rail Station. Together with Metromover, the system has seen steady ridership growth per annum, with an average of 104,000 daily passengers in 2013.

In 2012, Metrorail opened its 23rd station, Miami Central Station, at Miami International Airport (MIA), opening a 16-station newly created Orange Line between the MIA and Dadeland South stations. The new line is expected to increase ridership significantly, adding millions of riders per year,^[4] and allowing residents and visitors alike direct access from the MIA to Downtown Miami, and greater connectivity between various modes of transit throughout Miami-Dade County. Central Station provides direct service to Amtrak inter-city rail services, Tri-Rail commuter rail, Greyhound Lines intercity bus, and the Rental Car Center. Miami Central Station is expected to attract 150,000 daily commuters and travelers.^[5]

History

Construction

Metrorail viaduct under construction at Douglas Road in Coral Gables during the early 1980s

Early photo of a northbound Metro train approaching Brickell

In 1971, a study completed by the Miami Urban Area Transportation Study (MUATS) recommended the construction for a rapid transit system for the county.^[6] Having experienced a prolonged post-World War II population boom, metropolitan Dade County's permanent population rose by 35% to nearly 1.3 million residents within a decade, among the fastest population growth rates in the United States.^[7] Within a year of the study, county residents approved a $132.5 million ($739.4 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 the end the system cost over a billion dollars.^[8]

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). Groundbreaking for the system the county commission voted to be named "Metrorail" took 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. The entire original 21 mi (34 km) line contained 2,704 girders, constructed at a cost of $55,887,830.^[9] In June 1983, the first segment of Metrorail, 10 stations from Dadeland South to Overtown (now "Historic Overtown/Lyric Theatre") was completed with the construction of the Miami River Bridge. Revenue operation commenced on May 20, 1984 with 125,000 taking the free first-day service from Pinecrest/Dadeland to Overtown.^[10]

Additional segments between Earlington Heights and Okeechobee opened between December 1984 and May 1985. In March 1989, a temporary station was opened to provide a connection to the newly opened Tri-Rail commuter rail line, with the now permanent station officially opening in June. Preliminary engineering for a rapid transit extension to the Palmetto Expressway began in 1996 with Palmetto Station opening in May 2003. As far as operational costs, revenues expected for 2006 were $17.15 million, while expenses budgeted for 2006 were $41.29 million. These historic figures became the last the Miami Dade Transit Authority ever disclosed, and are the figures still displayed on today's Miami-Dade Transit webpage as of January 2012.^[8]

With the area having a generally low density and lacking transit-oriented development,^[11] the Metrorail was designed as a park and ride system, with the idea being that suburban residents would drive to the stations, then commute the rest of the way into the city. Nearly all of the stations outside of downtown Miami have parking facilities, except Tri-Rail Station. Several have large parking garages, such as Dadeland North and South stations, located at the southern end of the system, which combined have space for over 3,000 cars.^[12][13] Earlington Heights, located just northwest of Downtown and adjacent to Interstate 95 and the Airport Expressway, has a large garage that was formerly dedicated to Metrorail riders. However, that is now used by the county due to the station's low ridership,^[14] with only 95 vehicle spaces currently available.^[15] The successful Dadeland garages are at or over capacity, with two of Metrorail's proposed extensions, the West Kendall Corridor and South Link, intended to help alleviate them.^[16] The two northernmost stations, which are located near the Palmetto Expressway, Palmetto and Okeechobee, appeal to Broward County commuters with nearly 2,000 combined spaces.^[17][18] Additionally, the proposed North Corridor to the Broward/Miami-Dade county line would have included five park and ride facilities totaling 2,650 spaces.^[19] In the late 1990s, the plan was to potentially even continue the Metrorail line into Broward County along 27th Avenue (University Drive), ending at Broward Boulevard near Broward Mall in Plantation.^[20]

Ridership growth and transit tax

The urban area known as Dadeland is a part of unincorporated Kendall that sprouted around the two Dadeland metro stations.

After the initial segment of the single Green Line opened, Metrorail saw less than 10,000 riders per day. This increased to 15,000 after the rest of the line and stations opened in late 1984 and 1985.^[21] After running out of money due to cost overruns, the originally planned to be 50 miles (80 km) system consisting of several lines was never completed, and lack of transit-oriented development along the single line led to the system being regarded as a boondoggle. President Ronald Reagan commented that, given the low number of riders, it would have been cheaper to buy them all a limousine than the billion dollar cost of building and subsidizing the system.^[22] The federal subsidy was approximately $800 million of the $1.02 billion used to fund the line. Ridership was up to 15,000 after the rest of the line had opened.^[21] Ridership continued to grow in the late 1980s, with an edge city-like area known as Dadeland in suburban Kendall growing up around the southern terminus of the line at Dadeland North and Dadeland South stations. Consequently, the southern nine stations from Kendall to Downtown Miami have higher ridership than the northern end.^[14] This part of the system also has a higher average speed, having fewer curves and long distances between stations as it follows the congested South Dixie Highway.^[16] During the 1990s, ridership growth was relatively stagnant, however, and Metrorail remained the subject of criticism.^[23] At this time, ridership was up to about 50,000 per day, about a quarter of the original ridership estimate.^[24]

Although the original referendum for a one-cent transit sales tax increase had failed in 1999,^[19] a half-cent sales surtax (Charter County Transit System Surtax)^[25] increase was passed by a two-to-one margin by Miami-Dade County voters in November 2002,^[4] with the intention being for the revenue to go fully towards the funding of new transit lines, including the Metrorail Orange Line, new bus routes, and increased service. Metrorail briefly ran a 24-hour hourly service from 12am to 5am and rush hour peak headways were reduced to 6 minutes, but the idea of the transit tax was sold to voters as being able to fund up to 88.9 miles (143.1 km) of additional Metrorail track by the 2030 long range plan, beginning with a completion of an Orange Line north corridor and east–west line by 2016. As it turned out, Miami-Dade Transit was running a deficit and used some of the tax to close the books, as well as using some to hire new staff, pay rent, and buy furniture for their new headquarters at Historic Overtown/Lyric Theatre Station. By the late 2000s recession, it was realized that only the 2.4-mile (3.9 km) AirportLink of the Orange Line would be funded, and after service cuts in 2008, Metrorail was running fewer trains than before the tax was passed.^[26] In response to all this, The Miami Herald published a comprehensive exposé titled "Taken For A Ride, How the transit tax went off track", detailing all of the promises that were not kept as well as what money was misspent and how.^[16] Despite the service cuts, due to the rise in energy prices and ever-increasing congestion, as well as a significant amount of residential development in the downtown area, ridership continued to grow during the 2000s, averaging well over 60,000 weekday riders throughout 2011.^[14][27] However, this is still short of the 1985 estimate of 75,000 daily riders that were expected by the end of that year.^[21] The transit tax also funded improvements to the adjoining Metromover system, including removal of the 25 cent fare, with the idea that higher ridership on the system would lead to higher Metrorail ridership, as well as the realization that the cost of fare collection exceeded fare revenue.^[10]

Recent history

As of December 2011, new signs were installed in all stations. They were updated from the old all-green color to a neutral grey to allow for both lines to be shown on them.

Construction on Metrorail's 23rd station, Miami Central Station at Miami International Airport, began in May 2009; service began on July 28, 2012.^[28][29] A new Orange Line was launched, which runs from the airport and merges with the Green Line at Earlington Heights Station, where the two run concurrently to Dadeland South Station. At the new Miami Central Station, the Orange Line connects with the new MIA Mover which runs directly into the central terminal of the airport. Miami International Airport has over 35 million annual passengers is the county's largest employer.^[30] Thus the Orange Line is believed to create a significant increase in Metrorail ridership.^[31] The new Miami Central Station is expected to eventually attract 7,500 daily passengers to Metrorail. The project was completed on time and under budget.^[32]

In addition to private development, several joint-development affordable housing projects have recently been constructed along the Metrorail line with the intent of increasing ridership through transit-oriented development. These projects include Santa Clara apartments, Brownsville Transit Village,^[33] and The Beacon, which is located near Historic Overtown/Lyric Theater Station in Downtown Miami. The headquarters of Miami-Dade Transit, also located next to Historic Overtown/Lyric Theater Station, is known as the Overtown Transit Village. Brownsville Transit Village, opening in March 2012, was visited by the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Lisa P. Jackson, on January 5, 2012 to tour the 490-unit development, which will save an estimated five million gallons of water and $50,000 annually in utility bills due to environmentally sustainable plumbing fixtures.^[34]

Train and track information

Inside a Metrorail car

Metrorail

Legend to West Palm Beach (Tri-Rail) and New York City (Amtrak)      Palmetto Florida 826 Palmetto Expressway Golden Glades      Okeechobee Opa-locka      Hialeah      Tri-Rail      Northside      Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza Hialeah Marketoriginally Miami Airport      Brownsville Miami River      Miami Central Station Amtrak and Tri-Rail opened in 2013 Miami River Florida 112 Airport Expressway          Earlington Heights Florida 112 Airport Expressway          Allapattah          Santa Clara          Civic Center I-395 Dolphin Expressway          Culmer I-95          Historic Overtown/Lyric Theatre          Government Center Miami River          Brickell I-95          Vizcaya          Coconut Grove          Douglas Road          University          South Miami          Dadeland North Florida 878 Snapper Creek Expressway          Dadeland South Tri-Rail and Amtrak lines Mover to Miami International Airport transfer to Metromover transfer to South Miami-Dade Busway

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 23 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 commuter rail system at the Tri-Rail Station (see below).

Trains are stored at the Lehman Yard just west of Okeechobee Station.^[35] The yard houses 136 cars built by the Budd Company;^[36] Miami-Dade's rail 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. Trains draw power from an electric third rail. The cars are 75 feet (23 m) long, 10 feet (3.0 m) wide and have a top design speed of over 70 mph (110 km/h). Each car can hold up to 166 passengers (76 seated, 90 standing).^[37]

The Miami-Dade County Government was working with the Citizens Independent Transportation Trust (CITT) to receive money from the half-penny sur-tax approved by voters in 2002 in order to purchase new Metrorail cars. MDT had originally planned to refurbish the existing Metrorail cars with the money instead of replacing them as promised.^[38] However, it was found that the fleet had never been maintained properly, and in 2008, a cost-benefit analysis found that, based on the current fleet's condition, a refurbishment would cost just as much as it would to buy new cars, if not more so.^[25] The following year, Miami-Dade issued an RFP for new cars to replace their existing fleet, at a cost no greater than $2.419 million per car.^[39] Proposals from three railcar manufacturers were reviewed, with only two of which meeting the price requirements, these being from Italy-based AnsaldoBreda and Ithaca, New York-based CAF-USA, an American branch of the Spain-based CAF Industries Inc. CAF's bid was slightly higher than that of AnsaldoBreda, and thus Miami-Dade began awarding the contract to the latter. However, the contract was stalled when CAF filed suit against the transit authority, claiming that their selection of AnsladoBreda was due to the fact that the builder was willing to open a local factory in Miami-Dade County to assemble the vehicles. This violation could render the deal ineligible for federal funding.^[36] After reevaluating the bids from the builders, without taking local geographic preference into account, Miami-Dade reaffirmed its selection of AnsaldoBreda,^[40] and in November 2012, approved the $313 million purchase of 136 new Metrorail cars from the latter.^[41] Miami-Dade issued the notice to proceed the following month, with the cars expected to be delivered starting in 2015.^[42]

The cars are operated in 2-car units, and joined up to form 4-car trains, which is the normal train length. After completion of the AirportLink in 2012, Metrorail increased its service once again, with peak headways of three and a half^[35] to five^[43] minutes on the shared portion of the line from Dadeland South to Earlington Heights.^[35][43]

Along the Metrorail system, the tracks are mostly elevated. The three sections that are not are under I-95 between Vizcaya and Brickell stations, under I-95 just east of Culmer station, and the northern end of the line 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, Earlington Heights, 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 Lehman Yard.

AirportLink

The AirportLink guideway to Miami International Airport

In May 2009, Miami-Dade County broke ground on the AirportLink Metrorail Extension Project, a 2.4-mile extension of Metrorail that runs from the existing Earlington Heights station to the Miami Intermodal Center (MIC), now completed next to Miami International Airport (MIA).^[32]

Opened on July 28, 2012, the AirportLink is considered the centerpiece of the People's Transportation Plan (PTP), approved by Miami-Dade voters in 2002. The bulk of the funding for the $506 million project will come from the PTP half-penny tax, with the Florida Department of Transportation contributing $101.3 million.^[32]

The AirportLink provides a reliable transit connection to the airport for the millions of residents, visitors and employees who travel to and from MIA every year. With this project, Miami-Dade County joins the many major metropolitan areas around the world with rapid transit connections to their airports. In June 2011, when the Metrorail portion of the project was 81% complete, the project end date was slated as April 29, 2012.^[44] As of January 2012, the AirportLink track work was 100% complete, the substations have been electrified and load testing with two-car trains has commenced.^[45]

The final phase of the Miami Central Station project, which will serve Tri-Rail and Amtrak with a station located next to the Metrorail station, began construction in September 2011 and is expected to open in 2013.^[46] The original Metrorail line was initially planned to be built to the airport, but due to political pressure and lobbying was instead directed to its current alignment around the airport and to Hialeah.^[47]

Fares and services

A busy bike and ride rack at Brickell station, some stations have bike lockers; bicycles are also allowed on the trains^[1]

As of October 1, 2013, the current standard fare on Metrorail is $2.25 and reduced fare is $1.10. A standard monthly pass costs $112.50 and $56.25 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 through 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.^[48] All of the stations except the five in the downtown area and Tri-Rail station have dedicated parking available. Parking costs $4.50 per day or $11.50 for a monthly pass.^[49]

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 and token-based system with one that automatically deducts fares at Metrorail fare gates from a reloadable card.^[50][51][52] The final station to start fare gate installation was Government Center on August 2, 2009. Since the system launch on October 1, 2009, all passengers using Metrorail must use either an Easy Card or Easy Ticket to enter stations.^[53] For almost the full first year of use, the Easy Card ticket vending machines allowed anyone to purchase thousands of dollars worth of Easy Cards by credit card without entering a PIN or billing zip code, which led to credit card thieves putting high dollar values on Easy Cards and selling them at a discounted rate for cash. Miami-Dade Transit initially mitigated this issue by limiting credit card transactions to three per day and a value limit of $112, and later by requiring zip code verification for all cards.^[54]

From 2009 to 2011, free wi-fi was added to Metrorail and Metromover cars and stations, as well as certain Metrobus routes, with all Metrorail cars now having it.^[55]

Starting July 28, 2012, Metrorail increased service along shared Green and Orange Line stations from Dadeland South to Earlington Heights Stations. Along this stretch of shared track, trains arrive every 5 minutes during peak hours, every 7 minutes during mid-day hours, and every 15 minutes late nights and on weekends. At stations with only one service, trains arrive every 10 minutes during weekday rush hours, every 15 minutes at midday, and every 15–30 minutes after 6 p.m. until midnight with weekend service running every 30 minutes. Metrorail runs from 5 a.m. until midnight seven days a week.^[56] For a brief period from 2003 to April 2004 there was 24-hour service supported by the transit tax; 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.

Construction on the first segment of the Orange Line, Metrorail's AirportLink^[57] began in May 2009; service to Miami International Airport began in the summer of 2012.

MetroPath

The recently completed MetroPath bridge over the entrance to the Snapper Creek Expressway

The new Metro-Path extension running along the track guideway near Dadeland South station.

Beneath the Metrorail guideway from Brickell station to Dadeland South station, along the former Florida East Coast Railway right-of-way, there is a nearly contiguous 10.5 mi (17 km) bicycle and pedestrian trail known as the MetroPath (M-Path) which was built in 1984 along with the metro system. It is popular among cyclists, some of whom use it to commute to and from downtown, as well as runners.^[58] In late 2011, the MetroPath was extended and a 200 ft (61 m) bridge was added over the freeway style entrance to the Snapper Creek Expressway (S.R. 878) near Dadeland North station to complete the M-Path^[59] with the exception of a few small breaks at major road crossings such as near the north end at Coral Way (SW 13 Street) in Brickell and the Douglas Road area around Bird Road in Coral Gables. Beyond Dadeland South, the M-Path connects with the 20.5 mi (33 km) South Dade Rail Trail, which runs along the South Dade rapid transit busway, also former FEC right of way, all the way to Florida City.^[60] Together, the two paths form a continuous 31 mi (50 km) off-road trail for pedestrians and cyclists.^[61] Both trails are part of the ambitious East Coast Greenway project. Many additional improvement projects are planned over the coming years as part of the Metropath Master Plan created in 2007, such as repaving, widening, and enhancing crosswalks at major intersections.^[62]

Stations

Varying transit modes operating simultaneously at Government Center

Green Line train arriving at Tri-Rail Station

Miami Central Station under construction in June 2011

New Airport Station as of early 2012

Signs announce the nearly completed Orange Line in late 2011

Metrorail currently operates 23 stations, and combined with the Metromover in Downtown Miami and Brickell, the entire Metro system operates 43 stations. Metrorail stations are located at about a mile (one and a half kilometer) apart along the line, and Metromover stations are located at approximately every two blocks in the greater Downtown area.

Current stations

Travel times provided are approximate for travel to and from Government Center in Downtown.^[63][64]

Station	Lines		Time to Downtown	Connections	Opened	Average weekday passengers (11/2013)[65]
Palmetto			31 min	Metrobus: 87	02003-05-30May 30, 2003	1,543
Okeechobee			26 min	Metrobus: 73, 267 Ludlam Limited	01985-05-19May 19, 1985	1,492
Hialeah			23 min	Metrobus: 29, 37, 54, 112/L, 135	01985-05-19May 19, 1985	1,807
Tri-Rail			21 min	Metrobus: 42, 112/L Tri-Rail Amtrak: Silver Meteor and Silver Star	01989-06-05June 5, 1989	1,559
Northside			19 min	Metrobus: 12, 21, 32, 79 Max, 112/L	01985-05-18May 18, 1985	1,720
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Plaza			16 min	Metrobus: 27, 62,297	01985-05-19May 19, 1985	1,573
Brownsville			14 min	Metrobus: 27, 46 Liberty City Connection, 54, 254 Brownsville Circulator	01985-05-19May 19, 1985	1,099
Miami Central Station (Airport)			16 min	Metrobus: 7, 37, 42, 57, 110/J, 150 Airport Flyer, 238 East-West Connection Rental Car Center MIA Mover (to airport terminals) Amtrak: Silver Meteor and Silver Star (2013) Tri-Rail (2013)	02012-07-28July 28, 2012	1,554
Earlington Heights			11 min	Metrobus: 17, 22, 95,Express	01984-12-17December 17, 1984	1,857
Allapattah			9 min	Metrobus: 12, 21, 36, 110/J, 246 Night Owl	01984-12-17December 17, 1984	2,265
Santa Clara			7 min	Metrobus: 12, 21, 32, 113/M, 246 Night Owl	01984-12-17December 17, 1984	926
Civic Center			6 min	Metrobus: 12, 21, 32, 113/M, 246 Night Owl,95 Express	01984-12-17December 17, 1984	6,236
Culmer			4 min	Metrobus: 77, 211 Overtown Circulator, 277 NW 7 Av Max, Marlins Shuttle	01984-12-17December 17, 1984	1,580
Historic Overtown/Lyric Theatre			2 min	Metrobus: 2, 7, 95 Dade-Broward Express, 211 Overtown Circulator, 243 Seaport Connection	01984-05-20May 20, 1984	2,035
Government Center			0 min	Metromover: Downtown, Omni, and Brickell Loops Metrobus: 2, 3, 7, 9, 11, 21, 24, 51 Flagler MAX, 77, 93 Biscayne Max, 95 Dade-Broward Express, 103/C, 119/S, 120 Beach MAX, 207 Little Havana Connection, 208 Little Havana Connection, 246 Night Owl, 277 NW 7 Ave Max, 500 Midnight Owl Broward County Transit: 95X (to: Pembroke Pines, Sheridan Street, Broward Boulevard and Miramar Town Center)	01984-05-20May 20, 1984	12,488
Brickell			2 min	Metromover: Brickell Loop Metrobus: 6, 8, 48, 102/B, 207 Little Havana Connection, 208 Little Havana Connection, 500 Midnight Owl	01984-05-20May 20, 1984	5,564
Vizcaya			5 min	Metrobus: 12, 17, 24, 500 Midnight Owl	01984-05-20May 20, 1984	1,613
Coconut Grove			7 min	Metrobus: 6, 22, 27, 249 Coconut Grove Circulator, 500 Midnight Owl	01984-05-20May 20, 1984	2,050
Douglas Road			9 min	Metrobus: 37, 40, 42, 48, 136, 249 Coconut Grove Circulator, 500 Midnight Owl Coral Gables Trolley	01984-05-20May 20, 1984	4,485
University			12 min	Metrobus: 48, 56, 500 Midnight Owl	01984-05-20May 20, 1984	2,473
South Miami			14 min	Metrobus: 37, 57, 72, 500 Midnight Owl	01984-05-20May 20, 1984	3,754
Dadeland North			16 min	Metrobus: 52, 87, 88, 104, 204 Killian KAT, 272 Sunset KAT, 288 Kendall Cruiser, 500 Midnight Owl	01984-05-20May 20, 1984	7,214
Dadeland South			18 min	South Miami-Dade Busway Metrobus: 31 Busway Local, 34 Busway Flyer, 38 Busway MAX, 52, 73, 136, 252 Coral Reef Max, 287 Saga Bay Max, 500 Midnight Owl	01984-05-20May 20, 1984	8,138

Proposed expansions

The unused east-west platform at Government Center station, built in 1984 with the existing system but never being completed.

From the beginning, the Metrorail was designed and envisioned to have more lines than the current two line system; however, the federally subsidized cost of the original line ended up over budget at $1.02 billion,^[8] after which ridership was much lower than expected. The proposed lines included:^[16]

• The 13.6 mi (21.9 km) Biscayne/Northeast Corridor following U.S. Route 1 (Biscayne Boulevard) from Government Center up to the Broward/Miami-Dade county line in Aventura.
• The 9.5 mi (15.3 km) North Corridor up NW 27 Avenue to the county line.

• The 17.2 mi (27.7 km) East–West Corridor from Government Center west to the Florida International University main campus in University Park, as well as east from Government Center to the Port of Miami.

• The 5.1 mi (8.2 km) BayLink from Historic Overtown/Lyric Theater station to South Beach, Miami Beach.

• The South Link, a 21 mi (34 km) extension of the Green Line from Dadeland South to Florida City.

• The 4.5 mi (7.2 km) Douglas Road extension from Douglas Road station to the Miami Intermodal Center.

• The 15 mi (24 km) (West) Kendall Corridor down Kendall Drive from Dadeland North station west to West Kendall and north to the FIU main campus.

It was not until the half-penny transit tax was passed in 2002 that any serious expansion plans were again considered, with the North Corridor and East–West lines, both dubbed the "Orange Line," assuming the highest priority, while the possibility of 88.9 miles (143.1 km) of additional rail if all the extensions were built by 2030, was touted. However, after budget deficits, other uses of the tax revenue, and a downgrade of the North Corridor's funding priority to medium-low by the federal government, after 10 years only the 2.4 mile AirportLink and Orange Line remained promised and realized.

The credibility of Miami-Dade Transit and the County as a whole, including the validity of their ridership estimates and revenue forecasts, has been a significant impediment to their qualifications for funding under the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) approval.^[19] In 2011, Miami-Dade Transit underwent a serious federal investigation and takeover by the FTA in which it was forced to open its books over suspicions of money mismanagement.^[66] The Agency threatened to cease its funding used to cover operational costs, which would have meant significant cuts in service; however, they took the funding under their strict control to prevent this from happening.^[67]

The South Link expansion, which was intended to replace the South Miami-Dade Busway, a bus rapid transit that opened in segments on February 3, 1997 and in April 2005,^[68] has plans for a widened right of way, elevated crossings at major intersections, as well as the possibility of building one additional Metrorail station at SW 104 Street to alleviate traffic and parking in Dadeland.^[16] Since 2009, the Metropolitan Planning Organization has proposed that the busway be opened to regular vehicle traffic by adding a SunPass toll system with the profits going towards busway improvements.^[69]

Ridership records

Metrorail cars in their old livery

Passengers at Government Center

With the growth of Miami, Miami-Dade Transit ridership has increased to an all-time high.

* Record highs

Historic ridership records

See also

• Transportation in South Florida
• List of metro systems
• List of United States rapid transit systems by ridership
• List of North American rapid transit systems by ridership
• List of Florida railroads

References

External links

• Metrorail Homepage
• Transit Network Map of Dade County (to scale)

v t e Commuter rail and rapid transit stations in the Miami metropolitan area Tri-Rail (SFRTA) Boca Raton Boynton Beach Cypress Creek Deerfield Beach † Delray Beach † Fort Lauderdale † Fort Lauderdale Airport Golden Glades Hialeah Market Hollywood † Lake Worth Mangonia Park Metrorail Transfer †† Miami Central ††† (service resumes 2013) Opa-locka Pompano Beach Sheridan Street West Palm Beach † Metrorail (MDT) Airport ††† Allapattah Brickell †† Brownsville Civic Center Coconut Grove Culmer Dadeland North Dadeland South Douglas Road Earlington Heights AirportLink Government Center †† Hialeah Historic Overtown/Lyric Theatre Martin Luther King Jr. Northside Okeechobee Palmetto Santa Clara South Miami Tri-Rail Transfer †† University Vizcaya Metromover (MDT) Adrienne Arsht Center Bayfront Park Brickell †† College/Bayside College North Eighth Street Eleventh Street Fifth Street Financial District First Street Freedom Tower Government Center †† Knight Center Miami Avenue Museum Park Park West Riverwalk School Board Tenth Street/Promenade Third Street Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. MIA Mover (MIA) Miami Central Station††† MIA Central Terminal Key † – Amtrak Silver Service †† – Transfer between Metrorail or Metromover ††† – Amtrak Silver Service, Metrorail, and Tri-Rail services