Railroad Forums 

Discussion about Florida passenger rail operations including proposals. Official web-sites:
Miami/Dade Metrorail, Sunrail (Orlando), and Tri-County Commuter Rail Authority
For Virgin Rail/Brightline: Virgin Trains Worldwide (includes Brightline)

Moderator: Kurt-Trirail

 #1036085  by Noel Weaver
 
I rode Tri-Rail Wednesday, April 11th up to Boynton Beach and back and although we had a complete consist of the original cars they were in great condition, the windows spotless, interior spotless and the trains were on time in both directions. Ridership is strong and the new Rotem cars will be a great addiltion. There have been test trains on the road with all new Rotem cars in the consist and I suspect there will be trains of just Rotem cars for the public to ride before too much longer. I am a regular once a month rider to the hobby shop in Lantana using a bus from Boynton Beach and it saves me lots of gasoline and gives me a chance to read the magazines on the ride home.
Noel Weaver
 #1133593  by Jeff Smith
 
Update: Sun-Sentinel
Tri-Rail gets new, safer passenger cars

Breakdowns and overcrowding on Tri-Rail trains should soon become much less common.

The commuter train service is getting 24 brand-new passenger cars, billed by officials as among the safest in the nation, and 14 new locomotives. Three new cars have already been put into service and five more will start carrying passengers within the next 30 days.

The $95 million purchase is Tri-Rail's first major acquisition of new cars and locomotives since service began in 1989. It comes as ridership in 2012 eclipsed 4 million passengers for the first time since the record of 4.3 million was set in 2008.

...

The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, which runs Tri-Rail, purchased the cars from Hyundai-Rotem Car Co. of Seoul, South Korea. Tri-Rail spokeswoman Bonnie Arnold said they were assembled in the U.S.
 #1133815  by Noel Weaver
 
On Friday, January 11th I saw my first train made up solid of Rotem cars. They have been running a few Rotem cab cars for some time but not the non-cab cars. I suspect I will see more of them as the days continue.
Noel Weaver
 #1134353  by Noel Weaver
 
I do not really know just how many cars Tri-Rail owns but I have my doubts that they were retire many if any of the older cars, they are in relatively decent condition and I think they want to increase the service which will require their continued use.
Noel Weaver
 #1134356  by electricron
 
The best I found on the internet so far:
New Rotem order is for 10 cabs (512 - 521) and 14 trailers (1101 - 1114).
They had 11 cabs (501 - 511) and 15 trailers (1001 - 1015) from Bombardier
They also had 4 DMUs (703 - 706) and 2 trailers (7001 + 7002) from Colorado Railcar.

Is business so great that they have to almost double their passenger capacity? They ordered just 1 less cab and 1 less trailer of new vehicles from Rotem than what they already had from Bombardier.

Locomotive roster, as best as I can find on the internet, is:
5 F40PHL-2 (801 - 805)
5 F40PH-2C (807 - 811)
6 GP49 (812 - 817)
And they have ordered 10 new BL36PH locomotives from Brookville, with options for 17 more.
Again, I'm not sure if they're additions to the fleet, or replacements for those they wish to retire.
 #1135582  by jmlaboda
 
 #1347525  by Backshophoss
 
After Metrolink's decision to lease BNSF power to put in front of their Rotem Cab Cars for Safety reasons,are there any
"rumblings" that Tri-Rail might do the same as Metrolink has done?