. please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information . january 2015 tri rail overview type commuter rail locale greater miami termini miami international airport mangonia park stations 18 daily ridership 14 800 q4 2013 1 ridership 4.35 million 2013 1 operation opened january 1 1989 owner south florida regional transportation authority operator s transdev formerly veolia transportation character at grade technical line length 70.9 miles 114.1 km track gauge 4 ft 8 1 2 in 1 435 mm operating speed up to 79 miles per hour 127 km h 38 miles per hour 61 km h overall average route map legend amtrak silver service to new york mangonia park west palm beach i 95 lake worth zone 1 zone 2 boynton beach delray beach zone 2 zone 3 boca raton deerfield beach pompano beach zone 3 zone 4 cypress creek new river fort lauderdale zone 4 zone 5 fort lauderdale hollywood international airport sheridan street hollywood zone 5 zone 6 golden glades opa locka metrorail transfer hialeah market miami river miami airport metrorail to dadeland south this diagram view talk edit tri rail reporting mark trcx is a commuter rail line linking miami fort lauderdale and west palm beach florida united states . it is managed by the south florida regional transportation authority sfrta along csx transportation s former miami subdivision 2 3 the line now wholly owned by the florida dot . the 70.9 mile long 114.1 km system has 18 stations along the southeast florida coast and connects directly to amtrak at numerous stations and to metrorail at the tri rail and metrorail transfer station and at miami airport station . a second tri rail line on the florida east coast railway corridor dubbed the coastal link is being planned to be operational by 2020 . the planned line will operate between jupiter and government center in downtown miami and add passenger rail between the downtown areas of west palm beach fort lauderdale and miami . combined with the existing tri rail line the tri rail system would have a daily passenger ridership of almost 30 000 ; or approximately 9 million passengers per annum doubling tri rail s current ridership . contents 1 history 1.1 1920s seaboard all florida railway 1.2 1980 1990s planning and inauguration 1.3 2000s new stations more service 1.4 2009 present growth airport station and coastal link 2 extensions and upgrades 2.1 boca raton glades road station 2.2 downtown miami & coastal link fec line service 3 operations 3.1 fares and services 3.2 revenue and expense 4 rolling stock 4.1 locomotives 4.2 passenger cars 4.3 diesel multiple units 5 stations 6 ridership 6.1 ridership records 7 accidents and incidents 8 see also 9 references 10 external links history edit the west palm beach station built in 1925 is one of the many original stations built by the seaboard all florida railway in the 1920s . today these stations are used by tri rail and amtrak . 1920s seaboard all florida railway edit see also seaboard all florida railway the line on which tri rail operates was built by the seaboard all florida railway a subsidiary of the seaboard air line railroad for intercity passenger rail service in the early 1920s . the line was inaugurated on january 7 1927 . intercity rail service by seaboard operated the orange blossom special service from new york city until 1953 . amtrak continues to offer passenger rail service with the silver star and silver meteor trains from new york city . today the original 1920s seaboard stations are used by tri rail for service at west palm beach deerfield beach fort lauderdale hollywood though no longer in use the seaboard stations at delray beach opa locka and hialeah are still standing . 1980 1990s planning and inauguration edit planning for a new commuter rail line began in 1983 and building the organization began in 1986 . the current system was formed by the florida department of transportation and began operation january 9 1989 to provide temporary commuter rail service while construction crews widened interstate 95 and the parallel florida s turnpike . 4 tri rail was free from opening until may 1 1990 at which time the fare became 4 round trip . 5 due to higher than expected ridership tri rail outlasted its temporary status adding more trains and stations in the process . line extensions have enabled tri rail to serve all three south florida international airports miami international airport fort lauderdale hollywood international airport and palm beach international airport . the state s original plan was to use the more urban florida east coast railway fec line but fec declined the offer as it wanted freight to be their top priority . 6 in 1998 the initial 67 mile long 108 km route was extended north from the west palm beach station to the mangonia park station and south from the hialeah station to miami airport at an earlier station on the site of the current station . construction of the extensions began in 1996 ; which added nearly 4 miles 6.4 km to the system . 2000s new stations more service edit boca raton s tri rail station an example of the mid 2000s rebuilt that includes double track platforms and a pedestrian overpass in the early 2000s tri rail received a budget of 84.8 million clarification needed for double tracking building extensions improving stations establishling a headquarters and linking to buses . 7 in 2002 tri rail began to upgrade its grade crossings to include raised medians and or four quadrant gates to prevent cars from driving around them in an attempt to beat trains . this decreases accidents and allows the cities they run through to petition for them not to use their whistle between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. citation needed they also decreased headways to 20 minutes during rush hours . 8 the pompano beach station slated for rebuild was not renovated or rebuilt during tri rail s double tracking in 2007 a project to upgrade the full length of the line from mangonia park to miami airport with double track was completed with the opening of a high level fixed bridge over the new river near fort lauderdale . during the 2000s most of the stations were completely rebuilt to accommodate for double tracking and include dual platforms elevators pedestrian bridges over the tracks large roofs over the platforms and better facilities . in march 2006 tri rail went from 30 passenger trains a day to 40 trains ; the completion of the new river rail bridge the double tracking project and the addition of a second colorado railcar diesel multiple unit dmu ushered in sweeping changes to tri rail s operational timetables . tri rail added several more trains during peak weekday commuting hours in june 2007 increasing to the current 50 trains per day as well as increasing weekend service . 9 during rush hour trains ran every twenty to thirty minutes rather than the previous schedule of every hour . this change comes at quite a fortuitous time in tri rail s operation history . with gasoline prices at record highs particularly in south florida s sprawling metropolis tri rail saw a double digit percentage increase in ridership in mid 2007 . citation needed over 4.2 million passengers rode the line in 2009 a record number for the year . citation needed this was also the time during which work was being done on i 95 to add the express lanes from the golden glades interchange to the airport expressway near downtown miami . 10 2009 present growth airport station and coastal link edit fort lauderdale station built in 1927 serves tri rail and amtrak . in 2009 tri rail service was nearly cut drastically with the threat of being shut down altogether by 2011 11 even as ridership was at a record high as palm beach county withheld its funding of the system and looked to cut its funding from 4.1 million to 1.6 million per year . this would mean that broward and miami dade counties would also have had to cut their support to 1.6 million each to match . the state which was also running a budget shortfall and did not pass a rental car tax increase to help fund tri rail would have had to cut its support as well . this would have caused an immediate cut from 50 to 30 daily trains and a complete cutting weekend service followed by additional cuts and possible shut down two years later . 12 schedules were decreased slightly but service was never cut altogether as dedicated federal funding was attained through the 2.5 million grant as part of the american reinvestment and recovery act of 2009 . after a 25 % fare increase in mid 2009 annual ridership dropped by 15 % about 600 000 in 2010 . 13 however in 2011 tri rail again saw increasing ridership due to sustained high gas prices averaging about 14 500 riders per weekday by the end of year . throughout the year ridership increased at a rate of about 11 % per month paired with a decline in automobile travel 14 and an increase in employment with 285 companies and 2 829 individuals joining in the discount program . 15 in 2011 the dilapidated pompano beach station received a 5.7 million federal grant to be redone as a green station generating more than 100 % of its energy demand through solar power with the excess to be sent to the grid or stored for nighttime lighting . construction will start in spring 2012 and is expected to take 18 months to complete with the station to remain open during construction . 16 the crossing of race track road and the tri rail line near the pompano beach station has been rough for several years and will be repaired in 2012 . 17 total ridership on the system fully recovered to earlier high levels in fiscal year 2013 to 4.2 million . 13 tri rail wants to double ridership by 2021 to 30 000 daily riders by building the coastal link . 18 miami airport station opened in april 2015 . it is the largest station in florida serving tri rail metrorail metrobus and amtrak starting 2016 . in april 2015 miami airport station opened at the miami intermodal center once again connecting tri rail directly with the miami international airport for the first time since the original miami airport station closed in 2011 . this new station has connections to mia mover providing a direct link to the airport metrorail metrobus and greyhound . future connections include amtrak in 2016 . this new station was under construction since 2009 with a september 2011 closure of the original miami airport station to allow for construction of the new station 19 extensions and upgrades edit boca raton glades road station edit in early 2012 it was announced that a second tri rail station in boca raton was once again being considered at the busy intersection of glades road s.r. 808 and military trail s.r. 809 near town center mall florida atlantic university and large office parks . a station was proposed for this location in the early 2000s while many other stations were being renovated . boca raton station near yamato road s.r. 794 is the busiest station in the system 20 as of 2014 with 1 600 riders a day 21 surpassing the tri rail and metrorail transfer station in miami dade county . for this reason and the fact that glades road is considered the most congested road in the county an infill station there has been long considered . 22 downtown miami & coastal link fec line service edit in the 2025 and 2030 long range transportation plans tri rail has envisioned moving to or adding service on the florida east coast railway fec corridor which