MiamiCentral

"Miami Central Station" redirects here. For the transport hub near Miami International Airport, see Miami Intermodal Center.

MiamiCentral is a train station in Miami, Florida. Located in Downtown Miami, the station provides access to the Brightline inter-city rail service and the Tri-Rail commuter rail service. The station is part of a 9-acre (3.6 ha) mixed-use complex, which includes 3 million square feet (280,000 m²) of residential, office, commercial, and retail development.^[3]

MiamiCentral
The entrance to MiamiCentral
General information
Location	600 NW 1st Avenue Miami, Florida United States
Coordinates	25°46′39″N 80°11′45″W
Owned by	Florida East Coast Industries
Platforms	1 high-level island platform 1 high-level side platform 2 low-level side platforms[1]
Tracks	5[2]
Connections	Government Center Metrobus: 2, 3, 7, 9, 11, 21, 77, 95, 100, 203, 207, 208, 400, 401, 836, 837 Broward County Transit: 109, 110
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
Parking	Yes, paid
Bicycle facilities	Racks, Citi Bike station
Accessible	Yes
Architect	Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Zyscovich Architects, TLC Engineering for Architecture
Architectural style	Modernism
Other information
Fare zone	Miami Airport to Golden Glades (Tri-Rail)
History
Opened	April 15, 1896
Closed	January 23, 1963
Rebuilt	May 19, 2018
Services
Preceding station Brightline Following station Aventura toward Orlando Brightline Terminus Preceding station Tri-Rail Following station Metrorail Transfer Terminus Downtown Miami Link Terminus Metrorail Transfer toward West Palm Beach Express Weekday service
Former services Preceding station Florida East Coast Railway Following station Terminus Main Line Little River toward Jacksonville
Future services Preceding station Tri-Rail Following station TBD Terminus Red Line (proposed) Midtown/Design District toward Mangonia Park
Route map Legend Brightline to Orlando Tri-Rail to Metrorail Transfer or West Palm Beach 5 4 3 2 1 Track numbers: 1–3: Brightline; 4–5: Tri-Rail All platforms are accessible This diagram: view talk edit
Location

Government Center station, providing both Metromover and Metrorail service, is directly connected to the south end of MiamiCentral via a pedestrian bridge over NW 3rd Street. The Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. Metromover station and the Historic Overtown/Lyric Theatre Metrorail station are within steps of the northern entrances to MiamiCentral. The station was built by All Aboard Florida, a subsidiary of Florida East Coast Industries (FECI) overseeing Brightline, and designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in association with Zyscovich Architects.^[4]

History

Original FEC station: 1896–1963

MiamiCentral was originally a railroad station opened April 15, 1896 as the southern terminus of Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railway (FEC). The station was the southern end of the FEC line until 1905, when construction began to Key West via the Overseas Railroad. The FEC built a wooden passenger station building in 1912 at site of what would become the Dade County Courthouse.^[5] Construction on the courthouse was started in 1925 and finished 1928. FEC regularly serviced the site until January 23, 1963, when union workers for both companies went on strike.^[6][7]

At the insistence of the City of Miami, which had long fought to get rid of the tracks in the downtown section just north of the county courthouse, the downtown passenger terminal was demolished by November 1963.^[8] Although a new station was planned at the Buena Vista yard near North Miami Avenue and 36th Street (US 27),^[7] it was never built. The site of the old station was left as parking lots until construction of MiamiCentral began in 2014.

When FEC ended their passenger service, this left Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (service absorbed by Amtrak in 1971) as the sole inter-city rail in Miami. They operated out of the decaying Allapattah terminal at Northwest 22nd Street and Seventh Avenue (US 441) until in 1978 Amtrak moved to its current location near Hialeah.^[9]

New station

Schematic of rapid transit and passenger rail service in the Miami metropolitan area in 2017. The Tri-Rail Downtown Miami Link became operational on January 13, 2024.

In March 2012, All Aboard Florida, a former subsidiary of Florida East Coast Industries that also at the time owned the Florida East Coast Railway, announced plans to connect Miami and Orlando with higher-speed passenger rail service.^[10] In May 2014, All Aboard Florida unveiled their plans for the 9-acre (3.6 ha) site, with construction anticipated to begin in late 2014. The company planned to build two tracks on either side of an island platform 50 feet (15 m) above street level and 3 million square feet (280,000 m²) of transit-oriented development, with retail shops at street level and hotel rooms, housing and office space occupying towers above the station.^[11][12]

In August 2014, preparatory work began with the removal of parking lots that had previously been located on the site.^[13] Construction of the facility began in mid 2015, when subterranean support pilings began to be built, and by the end of the year foundation and frame construction was underway.^[14] By October 2016, construction of the rail facility was about 70% complete, while work on the lower structure of the office and residential buildings had begun.^[15] When Brightline began revenue operations in January 2018 between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, MiamiCentral was still incomplete.^[16] Service to Miami was planned to begin at the end of April 2018.^[17] Brightline service to MiamiCentral commenced on May 19, 2018.^[2]

In its final design, MiamiCentral includes a 50,000-square-foot (4,600 m²) dining and grocery marketplace dubbed Central Fare, 130,000 square feet (12,000 m²) of retail space, one residential building with 800 apartments, and two office buildings.^[15][18] It will have five tracks, with three serving Brightline trains and two serving Tri-Rail trains.^[14] The office buildings are 3 MiamiCentral (12 stories, 96,000 sq ft (8,900 m²)) and 2 MiamiCentral (190,000 square feet (18,000 m²))^[19]

The Tri-Rail commuter service invested about $70 million at the station for the "Tri-Rail Downtown Miami Link" project,^[20] which allows Tri-Rail to operate into the station. Service began on January 13, 2024, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony held the previous day.^[21] MiamiCentral is additionally planned to be the southern terminus of the Northeast Corridor Rapid Transit Project commuter rail line.^[22][23]

Station layout

Tracks 1-3, as well as Platforms A-C, are for Brightline service to Orlando. Tracks 4 and 5, along with Platforms D and E, opened in conjunction with Tri-Rail's Downtown Miami Link service.

Gallery

• 
  View toward the southeast of the city center, with passenger trains and the Dade County Courthouse foreground, c. 1930s
• 
  November 2015
• 
  July 2016
• 
  April 2017
• 
  April 2018
• 
  MiamiCentral station entrance, when it was branded under Virgin Trains USA
• 
  Brightline train at the station
• 
  Tri-Rail sign outside of the station
• 
  Tri-Rail train at the station

See also

• Transportation in South Florida

References

1. Elfrink, Tim (January 4, 2016). "Here's What Giant MiamiCentral Train Station Might Look Like Inside". Retrieved April 27, 2018.
2. Vassolo, Martin (May 12, 2018). "Brightline has finally announced a start date for service for Miami commuters". Miami Herald. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
3. "Here Are Leasing Plans And New Renderings For All Aboard Florida's MiamiCentral Station Project". The Next Miami. September 22, 2014. Archived from the original on February 11, 2015. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
4. "Florida Rail Developer Selects SOM for Station Plan". SOM. July 30, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
5. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 7, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
6. "Miami, FL (MIA)". Retrieved April 27, 2018.
7. Einstein, Paul (September 23, 1963). "It's Coming Down This Week!". The Miami News. p. 2A. Retrieved March 29, 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}
8. Howe, Ward Allan (November 3, 1963). "THE FLORIDA RUN: Railroads Anticipating a Busy Winter—New Schedule Effective Dec. 13" (PDF). New York Times. p. XX13. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
9. Kleinberg, Howard (April 24, 1986). "Seaboard Ended Rail Monopoly". The Miami News. Retrieved April 24, 2011 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Florida East Coast Industries, Inc. Announces Plans for Private Passenger Rail Service in Florida". Business Wire. March 22, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
11. Turnbell, Michael (May 28, 2014). "All Aboard Florida reveals plans for downtown Miami station". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
12. Vazquez, Christina (May 29, 2014). "All Aboard Florida unveils designs for Miami station". WPLG Local 10. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
13. "Work begins — finally — on Miami-to-Orlando fast train". Miami Herald. August 25, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
14. Turnbell, Michael (November 27, 2015). "Huge Miami train station about to rise from ground". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
15. Viglucci, Andres (October 21, 2016). "Here's a look at progress on MiamiCentral train station as construction chugs along". Miami Herald. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
16. Sorentrue, Jennifer (January 11, 2018). "Brightline starts service Saturday; round-trip fares starting at $20". Palm Beach Post. Archived from the original on January 29, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
17. Lima, Debora (March 7, 2018). "Brightline president: 'Train ridership is three times what we expected'". South Florida Business Journal.
18. Frías, Carlos (May 6, 2016). "Chew Chew! Miami-centric restaurants opening in downtown rail depot". Miami Herald. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
19. Bandell, Brian (February 19, 2018). "First building at Brightline's Miami station completed". South Florida Business Journal. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
20. "Tri-Rail Downtown Miami Link". Retrieved January 17, 2018. The key to this leveraging is a local investment of $70 million by the public for incremental construction costs by the public partners for the MiamiCentral Station, to accommodate Tri-Rail trains and new rail infrastructure to support the extension into Downtown Miami.
21. Beyer, Brandon; Quintana, Julian; Rosario, Rubén (January 12, 2024). "Grand opening ceremony held for Tri-Rail service into downtown Miami". WSVN. Sunbeam Television. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
22. "Miami-Aventura rail route cost rises quarter billion". Miami Today. September 26, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
23. "Brightline, Miami-Dade OK access fee for new commuter-rail system". Progressive Railroading. November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.

External links

• Media related to MiamiCentral at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website
• Brightline Official site
• Tri-Rail Downtown Miami Link site