Tri-Rail expanding weekend service later this year
By Michael Turnbell, Sun Sentinel
May 8, 2012
Tri-Rail will increase its service on weekends and holidays, as high gas prices and frustration from road construction continue to lure more passengers.
By about Thanksgiving or Christmas, trains will run hourly on weekends and holidays instead of every two hours. Tri-Rail's operator said it needs about seven months to hire and train additional crew members to operate the trains.
It's Tri-Rail's first expansion of service since 2007, and officials credit a boost in demand, especially among those who ride the train to the region's three major airports.
In March, weekend ridership increased about 7 percent compared to the same month last year. On Saturday, Tri-Rail carried about 5,600 riders on 16 trains. The system averages 14,000 riders on weekdays, but they are spread over 50 trains.
"With passengers carrying a lot of luggage, and if there are a lot of bikes, the trains can get really crowded," said Tri-Rail spokeswoman Bonnie Arnold.
But weekend trains only run every two hours, which isn't considered frequent enough to lure people from driving.
Arnold said the new service will give people who work on the weekends more flexibility. "A lot of them take the train during the week but end up driving on the weekend because of the current schedule," she said.
Tri-Rail runs along a 72-mile corridor mostly west of Interstate 95, from Mangonia Park, just north of West Palm Beach, to Miami.
It doesn't stop directly at each airport, but drops riders at nearby stations where they can board shuttles to and from the airports. Airport shuttles also would be provided with the hourly service.
Last month, Tri-Rail began running special trains to serve fans attending Marlins homes games at night. But ridership has been poor, generally about 50 riders per game. The Marlins are paying for the service.
To get to the games, fans take Tri-Rail to the Metrorail Transfer Station in Hialeah, then switch to Metrorail and continue to Culmer Station in Overtown. From there, they take shuttles provided by Miami-Dade Transit to and from Marlins Park.
While the cost of gas is a major reason for Tri-Rail's growth, prices in South Florida have been slipping since late April, according to travel club AAA.
In Fort Lauderdale, it averaged $3.78 a gallon on Monday, down 18 cents from last year. In West Palm Beach, it was $3.81 a gallon, also off 18 cents.
But construction on I-95 in southern Broward County is just getting started, which also draws train passengers. Crews are adding express lanes in each direction between the Golden Glades interchange and Broward Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. That work will continue until late 2014.
Tri-Rail's last expansion — running 50 trains on weekdays and 16 on weekends and holidays — was a result of a second track being added and a taller bridge being built over the South Fork of the New River in Fort Lauderdale.
mturnbell@tribune.com, 954-356-4155, 561-243-6550, Twitter @MikeTurnpike