Miami: MetroRail expansion to the airport begins construction

[N830MH]

Hi All,

This is first Metrorail service extension to MIA Airport is opening today.

Here is the link from Miami Herald:

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/07/2...-to-miami.html

“Now Miami-Dade joins other great cities like Paris and Tokyo and London in connecting their airports to the urban core,” Gimenez said soon after he used a pair of giant scissors to cut the ribbon strung in front of escalators leading from an airport transit hub to the futuristic new MIA Metrorail station.

Go ahead to take on Metrorail to Miami Airport. Enjoy!

[atlantaguy]

About damn time. Congrats, Miami.

[N830MH]

Originally Posted by atlantaguy

About damn time. Congrats, Miami.

[afiggatt]

How much public awareness is there in Miami about the Metrorail line and the expansion to the airport? With a single line, writing as someone who is not that familiar with Miami, I expect most people in Miami never think about taking the Metro or are barely aware of it.

As someone who has lived in the DC Northern VA suburbs for decades, I say it was not until the 1990s that the DC Metro, when most of the system was in place with 5 lines (with a stub Green line), that taking the Metro became a major part of the "culture" or the "default" mode for people getting around in DC. A single line limits the usefulness of a Metro system to state the obvious.

With the split line running to the airport, that presumably will get a lot of traffic to and from the airport of business and tourist types that I would guess the current Metro line has never gotten. That has got to boost the prospects for future expansions of the Miami Metro, more than any other relatively short extension they could have added?

[bobdreamz]

had to dig this thread up in order to post an update. First a rendering of the center :



Now for the latest U/c pics:





rail beds for Tri-Rail & Amtrak :







The new Metrorail Airport line on the left and a new rail track bed U/C for either Tri-Rail commuter or Amtrak :



Source : http://mic.dot

[aquablue]

They should have put the Metro right into the terminal area, not connecting to another train. This is the same mistake they have made all over the country!

In Europe they have done it right -- > Train underneath or adjacent to terminal (London, Amsterdam, Paris, Madrid, Rome, Milan, Frankfurt, etc, etc.). Why must the US do everything on the cheap only to bemoan the half-baked projects years into the future after the project struggles to reach ridership potential?

[bobdreamz]

^ Well we aren't Europe are we? I do agree that it should have gone into the terminal but I do remember this had a lot to do with politics between the Airport & the transit agency which was under going massive renovations at the time.
Also if you look at the rendering above the big square building is the rental car facility housing all of the major car rental companies under one roof. So if you want to rent a car at the airport you have to leave the terminal anyways hence the people mover to the intermodal center. Once there you get the choice of either renting a car or using 3 modes of mass transit.

[aquablue]

Originally Posted by bobdreamz

^ Well we aren't Europe are we? I do agree that it should have gone into the terminal but I do remember this had a lot to do with politics between the Airport & the transit agency which was under going massive renovations at the time.
Also if you look at the rendering above the big square building is the rental car facility housing all of the major car rental companies under one roof. So if you want to rent a car at the airport you have to leave the terminal anyways hence the people mover to the intermodal center. Once there you get the choice of either renting a car or using 3 modes of mass transit.

What does the fact they we are not in Europe have anything to do with it? Should we just build half-assed infrastructure 'our own way' and ignore the superior approaches of other countries? That is absurd. Our own way sadly is usually inferior. Stupid political bickering is usually the problem. Why the hell can't airports and cities work together? The same thing happened in JFK in NYC, where they had to build a separate train for the airport that lead to the current half-baked solution we see.

The fact remains that you still have to change trains to get to the airport from the city (or visa versa ) by transit which will deter most drivers/cab users from bothering.

[jamesinclair]

Originally Posted by aquablue

They should have put the Metro right into the terminal area, not connecting to another train. This is the same mistake they have made all over the country!

In Europe they have done it right -- > Train underneath or adjacent to terminal (London, Amsterdam, Paris, Madrid, Rome, Milan, Frankfurt, etc, etc.). Why must the US do everything on the cheap only to bemoan the half-baked projects years into the future after the project struggles to reach ridership potential?

Theres a reason it was done this way.

Metrorail operates every 10-30 minutes. Thats right, a train every 30 minutes.

People need to get between the airport and the MIC much more frequently...every 3 minutes.

Thats why its two systems. One needs to run 24/7 every 3 mins, one doesnt.

Its not half-baked, its not politics....its simply smart design.


Anyone know why the pedestrian bridge is built so high up? Seems excessive.

[electricron]

Originally Posted by jamesinclair

Anyone know why the pedestrian bridge is built so high up? Seems excessive.

Another photo shows why better than the one you used. Metro rail and TriRail mezzazines are at the same height. Metro rail clearances are high because regular traffic runs under its guideway. So the base of the Metro rail guideway is 16 feet, and the top of rail is probably 20 feet. Then you add the height of the Metro rail vehicles, around 12 to 14 feet. Therefore the base of the pedestrian mezzanine is around 30 feet above top of rail of the TriRail tracks, at least 10 feet taller than most.

[N830MH]

Originally Posted by jamesinclair

Anyone know why the pedestrian bridge is built so high up? Seems excessive.

May I ask a quick question for you? Will they have a escalator or elevator for every platform? Because those people who doesn't like the stairs. I think they will have escalator to be installed for every platform. How those people to catch the MIA peoplemover from Tri-Rail & Amtrak?

[electricron]

Originally Posted by N830MH

May I ask a quick question for you? Will they have a escalator or elevator for every platform? Because those people who doesn't like the stairs. I think they will have escalator to be installed for every platform. How those people to catch the MIA peoplemover from Tri-Rail & Amtrak?

American Public access laws for handicapped-wheelchair users explains the elevators, and the relatively 30 feet tall mezzanine explains the escalators. That's a three story climb, not your typical 10 feet tall stairway.

[eleven=11]

the steel roof part looks like the new denver union station.
looks good.

can the posts title change
the metrorail is done
waiting for the new amtrak station

[N830MH]

Any new pictures at Miami Airport station lately?