Rail Transportation USA - South Florida: Tri-Rail's new Miami Terminal has a European feel to it

Tri-Rail service into Miami Airport (photo EU-Digest)

The Sun Sentinel reports that if you are catching a flight at Miami International Airport, getting there by train from Broward and Palm Beach counties has become a lot easier.

Obviously this also holds true if you are going in the opposite direction.

On Easter Sunday morning, Tri-Rail began running commuter trains into a $92 million station that's just east of the airport. From there, it's a five-minute ride aboard a people mover to the terminal.

Travelers will no longer have to 'schlep'  their luggage off trains at Hialeah and then board shuttles which must fight traffic to the airport or visa versa.

The change should save between 15 to 20 minutes and usually much  more if there are traffic jams or accidents on surrounding roads.

Taking the train could also save you the cost of parking, which is free at Tri-Rail stations on a first-come, first-serve basis and for as long as you want. The exception is the Fort Lauderdale Airport station, where parking is limited to 24 hours because of space limitations.

The new Miami station has been under constructionnow for nearly four years – about two years longer than expected. It's in the same spot as the old station that closed in September 2011.

Here's what you can expect at the new station:

Tri-Rail trains arrive on the ground level of the station, which is part of the sprawling 16.5-acre Miami Intermodal Center.

Here, you can find Tri-Rail, Metrorail, Miami-Dade's county bus system, Amtrak, Greyhound and a rental car center all under one roof. Think of it as a futuristic food court for transportation agencies.

It's one of only two Tri-Rail stations that feature an "island style" platform, meaning the platform where you get on and off the trains is between the two tracks. This takes the guessing out of which set of tracks a train is arriving on.

Giant canopies provide shade and cover from the elements.

The new Miami Airport Tri-Rail station will probably also be a boost, time and money saver for European tourists, and all other travelers, especially those  visiting the South Florida Tri-County area.

Since Miami is usually a direct - no-transfer -  destination from cities around the world,  the new -TRI-RAIL- service should also attract a lot of tourists and other travelers, who otherwise fly routes with time consuming transfers through other US cities in order to reach South Florida destinations.

This new Miami Tri-Rail airport station certainly has a European feel to it, which all has to do with comfort, convenience and time-saving.

EU-Digest