Miami-Dade Metrorail Totally Explained

Everything about Miami Metrorail totally explained

Metrorail is a rapid transit system located in Miami, Florida, USA. Metrorail currently operates on a 22.4 mile rapid transit line, and is currently the only full-scale metro operating in Florida. It began service on May 20, 1984, servicing Dadeland South north to Overtown/Arena stations. The rest of the stations were opened in two additional phases, in December 1984 and May 1985. The most recent addition to the line, Palmetto station, opened in May 2003. The majority of the system runs on elevated tracks (tunneling wasn't seriously considered due to the area's high water table), but there are some areas which are exceptions. The Metrorail is operated by Miami-Dade Transit.

Hours of operation

Metrorail runs regularly from 5 a.m. until midnight seven days a week. Trains arrive every six minutes during weekday rush hours, every 8-10 minutes at midday, and every 15-30 minutes after 6 p.m. until midnight. Weekend service runs every 15 minutes until approximately 8 p.m., then 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, the Route 500 Midnight Owl, operates hourly between 12:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. trip between Dadeland South and Gov't Center/Downtown Miami metrorail stations. This bus service replaces 24-hour Metrorail service that was put into place for a brief period after the implementation of the half-penny sales tax initiative, but cancelled due to lack of ridership.

Train and track information

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, as the two systems were built at the same time, and the two agencies were able to save money by sharing a single order. Each car's capacity is 166 passengers; each train's top speed is 58 miles per hour. On the 27.4 miles of track are 9 crossovers: between Dadeland South and Dadeland North, between University and Douglas Road *, between Vizcaya and Brickell *, Culmer (east of the station), between Brownsville and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Plaza, Northside (east of the station), Okeechobee (both east and west of the station), and Palmetto (east of the station). (* Indicates crossovers which contain a length of center track capable of storing a 6 car trainset.)
   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 isn't uncommon for Miami-Dade Transit to link two out-of-service trains together before returning them to the Palmetto Yard.

Future plans

By 2016, when the Metrorail's Orange Line is scheduled for completion, the Metrorail network will serve Miami International Airport, Florida International University and Dolphin Stadium (see The Orange Line). Long-term plans exist to extend metrorail into Coral Gables, western Kendall, and Aventura.

Stations

Current stations

Future stations

Opa-locka*

Florida International University � :(* - Transfer to Tri-Rail Here)

:(** - Transfer to Metromover Here)

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.

The Orange Line, Metrorail's expansion to North and West Miami-Dade County, will begin construction in mid-to-late 2009, with service on the North Corridor of the line beginning in 2014.Further Information

Get more info on 'Miami Metrorail'.

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