miami metrorail

why was the miami subway which is actually an elevated line used baltimore subway cars rather than nyc subway cars?

I believe Baltimore and Miami ordered the cars as a joint order with the
same specs. Cars can be cheaper that way.
They are really decent cars for a line like this one.
Noel Weaver

They appear to have some relationship to MARTA and WMATA cars as well - is this my imagination? I know little about any of the four systems.

Mr. Weaver is dead on, Baltimore and Miami did order the same cars in the same order, as a cost savings. In general, there are a lot of similarities between the cars for Baltimore/Miami, LA MTA (Red Line), MARTA, and WMATA, with the last two being the most differentiated. I believe that some Miami cars were borrowed/leased by LA MTA to get the initial Red Line service up and running. I remember in the early 90's seeing the FEC haul some of them through Jacksonville on flatcars, then reading that they had been running in LA, so I'm pretty sure the LA MTA Red Line is compatible.

If anyone's really curious, PM me and I can dig out my copy of Bill Middleton's Metropolitan Railways, which is a pretty comprehensive overview of US rapid transit systems. There is more specific info in there.

What is Tri-Rail's policy concerning connections and also accomodating transfering passengers at Miami MetroRail depot? Last Sunday afternoon the northbound P670 (4:07pm) would not wait for about 2 dozen folks pouring onto the platform and into the train. The armed officers sent the train on its way, doors closed during boarding forcing remaing 24 people to wait 2 hours for the next train P672 (6:07pm). These armed officers seemed bent on expediting P670 but did not want to get the last batch of folks on board it.

(Mod note: I understand the unfortunate situation of your predicament, however, this is not the location to solve any problems you may have with Tri-Rail service. Please address these complaints to Tri-Rail directly: http://www.tri-rail.com)

BlockLine_4111 wrote:What is Tri-Rail's policy concerning connections and also accomodating transfering passengers at Miami MetroRail depot? Last Sunday afternoon the northbound P670 (4:07pm) would not wait for about 2 dozen folks pouring onto the platform and into the train. The armed officers sent the train on its way, doors closed during boarding forcing remaing 24 people to wait 2 hours for the next train P672 (6:07pm). These armed officers seemed bent on expediting P670 but did not want to get the last batch of folks on board it. Be more accomodating - its a weekend train with a schedule pad at last 2 stops. We had to roast there 2 hours for next train. It was very tacky and not professional IMO.

The armed officers do not have authority over the conductor. If you have access to a computer and apparently you do, you
should have checked for connecting service which is much less frequent on Saturday and Sunday.
If you were not familiar with the system the timetable directs you to call customer service at 1-800-874-7245. It also
advises passengers to arrive at the station 20 minutes in advance. Again, if you were not familiar with the system, you
probably did not allow enough time for this connection.
This has happened to a lot of people over the years, Tri-Rail tries to operate on time and independent of connecting buses
and Metro-Rail trains. If they waited for connections which do not exist, they would never be able to get anywhere on any
sort of a schedule.

www.tri-rail.com

Noel Weaver

Well maybe you do have a point there Noel. We sort of "winged it" on the return trip home - we knew the TriRail schedule but assumed the Miami MetroRail ran as frequently as say the PATH (and did not check its schedule). So in essence we must have just missed the 3:19pm MetroRail from Gov't Center (due in at 3:38pm for the TriRail). We borded the 3:49pm train (due in at 4:08pm). MetroRail got in 2 minutes early, then TriRail came in, and the stampede began down the escaltor/stairs resulting in about 6-10 persons making it on board and about 24 (including us) stranded. Luckily nobody fell and got hurt. Its water under the bridge now. Live and learn. Next time we go to Miami we will allow cushions for time.

As Noel said, the Wackenhut rent-a-cops they have assigned have absolutely nothing to do with Tri-Rail equipment operations, only ticket work and enforcement.

-Kurt

BlockLine_4111 wrote:Well maybe you do have a point there Noel. We sort of "winged it" on the return trip home - we knew the TriRail schedule but assumed the Miami MetroRail ran as frequently as say the PATH (and did not check its schedule). So in essence we must have just missed the 3:19pm MetroRail from Gov't Center (due in at 3:38pm for the TriRail). We borded the 3:49pm train (due in at 4:08pm). MetroRail got in 2 minutes early, then TriRail came in, and the stampede began down the escaltor/stairs resulting in about 6-10 persons making it on board and about 24 (including us) stranded. Luckily nobody fell and got hurt. Its water under the bridge now. Live and learn. Next time we go to Miami we will allow cushions for time.

I know what the schedule says, but the reality is that the "x:19" or "x:49" from Govt. Center usually doesn't exist on weekends. For whatever reason -- the official one being using a single track to accommodate weekend maintenance -- MetroRail frequently doesn't keep to its schedule on weekends -- even from the end/beginning of the line. All you can count on is that the trains do in fact run every half hour on weekends.

During my recent trip to Miami, I did fine with connections here but only because I was riding on a weekday. I can see why weekends are a problem. I also wondered why there is no enclosed, air conditioned waiting area for connecting passengers. It wouldn't be so bad if more amenities were available but the only thing around the Metrorail Transfer is a bunch of auto body shops. Hopefully changing trains at the Miami Intermodal Center will be a much more pleasant experience when it opens.