Miami Central Station

Miami Central Station Airport Union station Amtrak intercity train station Metrorail metro station Tri-Rail commuter rail station
Frontage of the station showing the new Metrorail platforms, June 2011
Station statistics
Address	3797 NW 21st Street Grapeland Heights, Miami, Florida
Coordinates	25°47′48″N 80°15′41″W / 25.79667°N 80.26139°W / 25.79667; -80.26139Coordinates: 25°47′48″N 80°15′41″W / 25.79667°N 80.26139°W / 25.79667; -80.26139
Lines	Amtrak: (2013):   Silver Meteor   Silver Star Metrorail: (April 2012)   Orange Line (2012) Tri-Rail: (2013)   Tri-Rail
Connections	Miami International Airport via MIA Mover Greyhound Bus Lines Metrobus: 37, 42, 57, J (110), 133, 150 and 238 Rental Car Center Taxis
Levels	2 Ground floor: Amtrak, Tri-Rail, Metrobus and Greyhound Lines Upper level: Metrorail and MIA Mover
Platforms	Platforms 1–4: Ground cross-platform interchange (Amtrak and Tri-Rail) Platforms 5 & 6: Elevated island platform (Metrorail and MIA Mover)
Tracks	8
Parking	Multi-story parking garage
Bicycle facilities	Bicycle parking on ground level
Other information
Opened	April 30, 2012 (expected)[1]
Accessible
Owned by	FDOT
Fare zone	Miami Central to Golden Glades (Tri-Rail) Airport to Dadeland South (Metrorail)
Traffic
Passengers (2012, proj.)	150,000 (daily)[2][3]  0%
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station Terminus Silver Star Hollywood toward New York City Silver Meteor Metrorail Terminus Orange Line (2012) Earlington Heights toward Dadeland South SFRTA Terminus Tri-Rail Hialeah Market toward Mangonia Park

Miami Central Station, also called Miami Airport Station,^[4][5] is a rapid transit, commuter rail, intercity rail, and intercity bus union station currently under construction in Miami, Florida, United States, in the Grapeland Heights neighborhood.

The station is just south and east of the Miami River and Miami International Airport (MIA), respectively, and adjacent to the Airport Expressway (SR 112) on North Douglas Road (West 37th Avenue). When completed, it will serve Amtrak, Tri-Rail, Metrorail, and Metrobus, and will provide a people mover connection to the airport via the MIA Mover.

Phase I of the station, which involves the construction of the MIA Mover, Metrobus terminal, and Metrorail concourse, is scheduled to open in April 2012. Phase II, which entails construction of the Tri-Rail and Amtrak concourse, is scheduled for completion and opening in mid 2013.^[1] The intermodal rail station, a part of the greater Miami Intermodal Center at MIA, is expected to be among the busiest passenger stations in Florida and the Southeast upon completion.

History

Rendering of the Miami Central Station, expected to be completed in 2013

Intercity passenger rail service service into Miami began in April 1896 with the arrival of the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) at the new southern terminus in downtown, just east of the current site of Government Center station. Service between New York operated in conjunction with both the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and the Seaboard Air Line Railway from Jacksonville. In January 1927, the Seaboard Air Line Railway commenced service on its newly completed extension to Miami, with the Orange Blossom Special arriving at Seaboard's terminal in Allapattah two miles north of downtown.^[6][7]

Passenger service on the FEC was halted by a strike in January 1963, and the FEC downtown station was demolished that November. Seaboard, however, continued providing passenger service to its terminal via the streamlined Silver Meteor and other trains. Amtrak took over Seaboard's passenger routes in 1971, continuing to provide service to the Seaboard terminal.

In 1977, Amtrak determined it could not maintain the decaying Allapattah terminal, which also posed logistical problems for passenger coach maintenance, and moved the Miami terminus to its current location at the Seaboard passenger coach yards near Hialeah.^[8] The new Miami Central Station is located six miles south of the current Amtrak station, on a mile-long spur that branches south off of the beginning of the Seaboard (now CSX) Homestead extension near the Miami River.

Construction of the facility began on May 18, 2011, but the ceremonial groundbreaking did not take place until September 27.^[9]

Tri-Rail

Southbound Tri-Rail service terminated at the modern-day Hialeah Market in 1987. The current station opened in April 1998 at the present site of Central Station. It is currently the southern terminus of the Tri-Rail system.

On September 12, 2011, Tri-Rail service to the site was suspended for approximately two years to facilitate construction of the new station, with Hialeah Market becoming the temporary southern terminus for Tri-Rail. Shuttle buses will take passengers from the Hialeah Market station to the Miami airport, with two trains per day stopping further North at the Metrorail transfer station (with accompanying shuttles) instead. ^[10]

Places of interest

• Miami International Airport
• Miami Intermodal Center
• City of Doral
• City of Miami Springs
• Melreese Golf Course
• Grapeland Heights Park

Transit connections

Metrobus

Existing routes serving the site when completed

NOTE: As of Sept. 2011, this station is closed to finish construction of the Intermodal Complex.

Route #	Route Name	Route Map	Note
37	South Miami Metrorail station ↔ Hialeah via Douglas Rd & Palm Ave	Map
42	Douglas Road Metrorail station ↔ Opa-locka or Miami Springs (42A) via LeJeune Rd	Map	Evening weekday terminus at MIA
57	Jackson South Hospital via Red Rd (SR 959) and Perimeter Rd	Map	Weekday service only
J (110)	Miami Beach via Julia Tuttle Cswy, 36 St & LeJeune Rd	Map
133	Airport/Tri-Rail Shuttle (MIA ↔ Hialeah Market Tri-Rail station or NW 79th Street/37th Ave	Map	To be discontinued when station is reopened.
150	Airport Flyer (MIA ↔ Lincoln Road, Miami Beach via the Airport Expressway, Julia Tuttle Causeway, and Collins Avenue)	Map
238	East-West Connection (Dolphin Mall ↔ Earlington Heights station)	Map	Weekday service only

New service upon Central Station completion^[11]

Route #	Route Name	Route Map	Note
6	Coconut Grove Metrorail station ↔ Central Station via Downtown Miami and Brickell	Map
7M	Culmer Metrorail station ↔ Central Station via NW 7th Street and Marlins Ballpark	Map
97	27th Ave MAX Central Station ↔ Calder Race Track/Dolphin Stadium and County Line via NW 27th Ave		Weekdays Only
836X	West Miami-Dade ↔ Downtown Miami via Central Station and Dolphin Expressway (SR 836)		Weekday rush hour service; limited-stop

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "MIC Construction Schedule". Summary Schedule. Florida Department of Transportation. 2011-04-07. http://www.micdot.com/mic_program/schedules/11-0331%20March%202011%20Timeline.pdf. Retrieved 24 April 2011. 
2. ^ "Miami, FL (MIA)". Great American Stations. Amtrak. 2010. http://www.greatamericanstations.com/Stations/MIA. Retrieved 24 April 2011. 
3. ^ "Zero Void® Monostrand System Stabilizes Modern Transportation Hub at Miami Airport". DYWIDAG Systems International. 2011. http://www.dsiamerica.com/references/commercial-buildings/modern-transportation-hub-at-miami-airport-usa.html. Retrieved 24 April 2011. 
4. ^ Miami-Dade Transit (2010). "AirportLink Metrorail Extension Project Status". Miami-Dade County. http://www.miamidade.gov/transit/improve_airport_status.asp. Retrieved 14 December 2010. 
5. ^ Miami-Dade Transit (Fall 2010). "Miami-Dade AirportLink News". Miami-Dade County. http://www.miamidade.gov/transit/library/airportlink_newsletter_fall-correctedv.pdf. Retrieved 14 December 2010. 
6. ^ "Miami All Set to Meet First Seaboard Train". The Miami Daily News. 7 January 1927. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=jj8uAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OtgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1539%2C3667049. Retrieved 24 April 2011. 
7. ^ "Seaboard Line Came to Miami Nine Years Ago". The Miami Daily News. 4 April 1936. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=OhpVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Yj0NAAAAIBAJ&pg=3114%2C4636075. Retrieved 24 April 2011. 
8. ^ Kleinberg, Howard (24 April 1986). "Seaboard Ended Rail Monopoly". The Miami News. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=jtUlAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ffMFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1533%2C6738216. Retrieved 24 April 2011. 
9. ^ "Groundbreaking set for Miami multi-modal station". Trains Magazine. September 26, 2011. http://trn.trains.com/en/Railroad%20News/News%20Wire/2011/09/Groundbreaking%20set%20for%20Miami%20multi-modal%20station.aspx. Retrieved September 27 2011. 
10. ^ http://www.tri-rail.com/bulletins.htm#list24
11. ^ "Transit Development Plan". Annual Administrative Update. Miami-Dade Transit. September 2010. http://www.miamidade.gov/transit/library/pdfs/misc/tdp_may_2010.pdf. Retrieved 24 April 2011. 

See also

• MIC – Airport/Miami Central Station
• MDT – Orange Line/AirportLink Metrorail Extension Project
• TransitMiami