A Tri-Rail station is set to open at Miami International Airport (MIA) on Sunday. The station has been in construction for three years, and will replace the old MIA station that closed in 2011.
As a result, the usual Tri-Rail schedule will be updated to include the additional stop. Copies of the adjusted train schedules are already available online on Tri-Rail’s official website.
“My dreams have come true,” said UM graduate student Naomi Ross, who uses the Tri-Rail with her husband to visit family and friends in Broward. “We go for holidays or every so often. It’s so easy because we don’t have a car and someone will pick us up, but the train by the airport will definitely make it easier.”
The station closest to Ross’s home was the Hialeah Market Station, which was temporarily operating as an alternative to the MIA station after the latter closed for construction. The new station will make her commute shorter and more convenient.
Some UM students also pointed out that the new station could help with commutes between airports, since the Tri-Rail network now has stops at MIA and Fort Lauderdale Airport, as well as a stop close to the West Palm Beach Airport.
“I think it’s great so people can more easily pick which airports they go to,” said senior Joshua Stone, who used the Tri-Rail system every weekday for six months to travel between Hollywood and Lake Worth. “You can fly into MIA and get to Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach easily. In my case, the Tri-Rail saved me a lot of time, money and frustration in commuting.”
Students using the Metrorail as a point of access to the Tri-Rail, however, may not see an impact if they want to travel north.
“Taking that (MIA) stop is illogical and much longer than just going to the Metrorail Transfer Station,” said junior Barbara Puodzius, who travels to Fort Lauderdale about once a month and leaves from University Station across from the Coral Gables campus.
The new facility will also provide users with access to the Metrobus network, rental car services and taxi services. Students can obtain a 50 percent discount on one-way, round-trip and monthly passes.