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120-512: Metrorail is a rapid transit system in Miami and Miami-Dade County in the U.S. state of Florida . Metrorail is operated by Miami-Dade Transit (MDT), a departmental agency of Miami-Dade County. Opened in 1984, it is Florida's only rapid transit metro system, and is currently composed of two lines of 23 stations on 24.4 miles (39.3 km) of standard gauge track. Metrorail serves the urban core of Miami, connecting Miami International Airport ,

240-572: A 9–0 vote, with a station at Miami-Dade College being added to Phase I of the project alongside the terminus at Hard Rock Stadium. Infrastructure design firm HNTB was designated to design the future extension whilst being given $ 44 million in funding by the TMP Committee. A Project Development and Environment Study is also being done by the Florida Department of Transportation in parallel to HNTB's design work in order to accelerate

360-1071: A PIN or billing zip code, which led to credit card thieves putting high dollar values on Easy Cards and selling them at a discounted rate for cash. Miami-Dade Transit initially mitigated this issue by limiting credit card transactions to three per day and a value limit of $ 112, and later by requiring zip code verification for all cards. From 2009 to 2011, free Wi-Fi was added to Metrorail and Metromover cars and stations, as well as certain Metrobus routes. Starting July 28, 2012, Metrorail increased service along shared Green and Orange Line stations from Dadeland South to Earlington Heights. Along this stretch of shared track, trains arrive every 5 minutes during peak hours, every 7 minutes during mid-day hours, and every 15 minutes late nights and on weekends. At stations with only one service, trains arrive every 10 minutes during weekday rush hours, every 15 minutes at midday, and every 15–30 minutes after 6 p.m. until midnight with weekend service running every 30 minutes. On weekends,

480-425: A body of water), which are potential congestion sites but also offer an opportunity for transfers between lines. Ring lines provide good coverage, connect between the radial lines and serve tangential trips that would otherwise need to cross the typically congested core of the network. A rough grid pattern can offer a wide variety of routes while still maintaining reasonable speed and frequency of service. A study of

600-454: A code for its stations. Unlike that of Singapore's MRT, it is mostly numbers. Based on the line number, for example Sinyongsan station, is coded as station 429. Being on Line 4, the first number of the station code is 4. The last two numbers are the station number on that line. Interchange stations can have multiple codes. Like City Hall station in Seoul which is served by Line 1 and Line 2. It has

720-651: A code of 132 and 201 respectively. The Line 2 is a circle line and the first stop is City Hall, therefore, City Hall has the station code of 201. For lines without a number like Bundang line it will have an alphanumeric code. Lines without a number that are operated by KORAIL will start with the letter 'K'. With widespread use of the Internet and cell phones globally, transit operators now use these technologies to present information to their users. In addition to online maps and timetables, some transit operators now offer real-time information which allows passengers to know when

840-889: A continuation in the ridership decline across all three systems; ridership in September 2017 was impacted by Hurricane Irma despite the exclusion of days without service from the average. All three modes declined sharply starting in March 2020 during the covid pandemic, slowly recovering over the next three years. * Record high [REDACTED] Media related to Metrorail (Miami-Dade County) at Wikimedia Commons {{|0=2012-10-03 }} Rapid transit Modern services on rapid transit systems are provided on designated lines between stations typically using electric multiple units on railway tracks . Some systems use guided rubber tires , magnetic levitation ( maglev ), or monorail . The stations typically have high platforms, without steps inside

960-583: A conventional track is often provided in case of flat tires and for switching . There are also some rubber-tired systems that use a central guide rail , such as the Sapporo Municipal Subway and the NeoVal system in Rennes , France. Advocates of this system note that it is much quieter than conventional steel-wheeled trains, and allows for greater inclines given the increased traction of

1080-583: A cost of $ 55,887,830. In June 1983, the first segment of Metrorail, 10 stations from Dadeland South to Overtown (now "Historic Overtown/ Lyric Theatre ") was completed with the construction of the Miami River Bridge. Revenue operation commenced on May 20, 1984, with 125,000 taking the free first-day service from Pinecrest /Dadeland to Overtown. In 1984 Rockne Krebs created an urban-scale neon sculpture multicolored light installation called The Miami Line that stretches 1,540 feet (470 m) across

1200-482: A custom rail-car building facility in Medley, Florida. The cars are semi-permanently attached in married pairs , and joined up to form 4-car trains, which is the normal train length, although 6-car trains are also possible. Included amenities are free Wi-Fi, interior bicycle racks, improved announcement systems, digital signs and high-efficiency air conditioning units. Metrorail formerly used 136 heavy-rail cars (known as

1320-541: A decade, among the fastest population growth rates in the United States. Within a year of the study, county residents approved a $ 132.5 million ($ 965.1 million, adjusted for current inflation) bond dedicated to transit, with additional funding approved by the Florida Legislature for transit which, up until that time, operated solely on fare revenue. In 1976, with preliminary engineering completed for

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1440-405: A dedicated right-of-way are typically used only outside dense areas, since they create a physical barrier in the urban fabric that hinders the flow of people and vehicles across their path and have a larger physical footprint. This method of construction is the cheapest as long as land values are low. It is often used for new systems in areas that are planned to fill up with buildings after the line

1560-458: A fare-paying rider, with a limit of 3. Ticket vending machines (TVMs) that sell Easy Cards and Easy Tickets are found in all rail stations. All Miami-Dade senior citizens aged 65 years and older and with Social Security benefits, and veterans residing in Miami-Dade and earning less than $ 22,000 annually ride free with the reduced fare monthly Easy Card. All of the stations except the five in

1680-472: A goal of starting construction in 2024 with aid from federal funds. The extension will be built in two phases: Phase I would see the extension built up to Hard Rock Stadium with just one station, while Phase II would see more stations built on the elevated line as well as transit-oriented developments built alongside it. On January 9, 2023, the expedition of this extension's design was approved by Miami-Dade County's Transportation, Mobility and Planning Committee on

1800-492: A large garage that was formerly dedicated to Metrorail riders. However, that is now used by the county due to the station's low ridership, with only 95 vehicle spaces currently available. The successful Dadeland garages are at or over capacity, with two of Metrorail's proposed extensions, the West Kendall Corridor and South Link, intended to help alleviate them. The two northernmost stations, which are located near

1920-418: A large number of factors, including geographical barriers, existing or expected travel patterns, construction costs, politics, and historical constraints. A transit system is expected to serve an area of land with a set of lines , which consist of shapes summarized as "I", "L", "U", "S", and "O" shapes or loops. Geographical barriers may cause chokepoints where transit lines must converge (for example, to cross

2040-652: A large part of the network, for example, in outer suburbs, runs at ground level. In most of Britain , a subway is a pedestrian underpass . The terms Underground and Tube are used for the London Underground . The North East England Tyne and Wear Metro , mostly overground, is known as the Metro . In Scotland , the Glasgow Subway underground rapid transit system is known as the Subway . In Ireland ,

2160-452: A line is obtained by multiplying the car capacity, the train length, and the service frequency . Heavy rapid transit trains might have six to twelve cars, while lighter systems may use four or fewer. Cars have a capacity of 100 to 150 passengers, varying with the seated to standing ratio  – more standing gives higher capacity. The minimum time interval between trains is shorter for rapid transit than for mainline railways owing to

2280-615: A metro. In Spain, such systems are present in Madrid , Barcelona , Bilbao and Valencia . In Portugal, Lisbon has a metro. The Italian cities of Catania , Genoa , Milan , Naples , Rome and Turin also have metro lines. In Germany and Austria they rapid transit is known as U-Bahn , which are often supported by S-Bahn systems. In Germany, U-Bahn systems exist in Berlin , Hamburg , Munich and Nuremberg , while in Austria such

2400-428: A rapid transit setting. Girder A girder ( / ˈ ɡ ɜːr d ər / ) is a beam used in construction . It is the main horizontal support of a structure which supports smaller beams. Girders often have an I-beam cross section composed of two load-bearing flanges separated by a stabilizing web , but may also have a box shape, Z shape, or other forms. Girders are commonly used to build bridges. A girt

2520-483: A reloadable card. The final station to start fare gate installation was Government Center on August 2, 2009. Since the system launch on October 1, 2009, all passengers using Metrorail must use either an Easy Card or Easy Ticket to enter stations. For almost the full first year of use, the Easy Card ticket vending machines allowed anyone to purchase thousands of dollars worth of Easy Cards by credit card without entering

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2640-565: A specialized transit police may be established. These security measures are normally integrated with measures to protect revenue by checking that passengers are not travelling without paying. Some subway systems, such as the Beijing Subway , which is ranked by Worldwide Rapid Transit Data as the "World's Safest Rapid Transit Network" in 2015, incorporates airport-style security checkpoints at every station. Rapid transit systems have been subject to terrorism with many casualties, such as

2760-608: A system exists in Vienna . In addition, the small, car-free town of Serfaus in the Austrian state of Tyrol also features a short U-Bahn line. There are no U-Bahn systems in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, but the city of Lausanne has its own, small metro system. In Zurich, Switzerland's largest city, a project for a U-Bahn network was stopped by a referendum in the 1970s and instead its S-Bahn system

2880-543: A top design speed of over 70 mph (110 km/h). Each car can hold up to 166 passengers (76 seated, 90 standing), and draw power from an electric 750 V DC   third rail . The Miami-Dade County Government was working with the Citizens Independent Transportation Trust (CITT) to receive money from the half-penny sur-tax approved by voters in 2002 in order to purchase new Metrorail cars. MDT later planned to refurbish

3000-529: A vital component of the People's Transportation Plan (PTP), which Miami-Dade voters approved in 2002. The bulk of the funding for the $ 506 million project came from the plan's half-penny tax, with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) contributing $ 101.3 million. Construction commenced in May 2009, and service on the new Orange Line began on July 28, 2012, with the project completed on time and under budget. At

3120-600: A widened right of way, elevated crossings at major intersections, as well as the possibility of building one additional Metrorail station at SW 104 Street to alleviate traffic and parking in Dadeland. In 2009, the Metropolitan Planning Organization proposed that the busway be opened to regular vehicle traffic by adding a SunPass toll system with the profits going towards busway improvements. The proposal did not pass. The South Link, now known as

3240-801: Is a shortened reference to a metropolitan area . Rapid transit systems such as the Washington Metrorail , Los Angeles Metro Rail , the Miami Metrorail , and the Montreal Metro are generally called the Metro . In Philadelphia , the term "El" is used for the Market–Frankford Line which runs mostly on an elevated track, while the term "subway" applies to the Broad Street Line which is almost entirely underground. Chicago 's commuter rail system that serves

3360-608: Is a single corporate image for the entire transit authority, but the rapid transit uses its own logo that fits into the profile. A transit map is a topological map or schematic diagram used to show the routes and stations in a public transport system. The main components are color-coded lines to indicate each line or service, with named icons to indicate stations. Maps may show only rapid transit or also include other modes of public transport. Transit maps can be found in transit vehicles, on platforms , elsewhere in stations, and in printed timetables . Maps help users understand

3480-778: Is a vertically aligned girder placed to resist shear loads. Small steel girders are rolled into shape. Larger girders (1 m/3 feet deep or more) are made as plate girders , welded or bolted together from separate pieces of steel plate . The Warren type girder replaces the solid web with an open latticework truss between the flanges. This arrangement combines strength with economy of materials, minimizing weight and thereby reducing loads and expense. Patented in 1848 by its designers James Warren and Willoughby Theobald Monzani, its structure consists of longitudinal members joined only by angled cross-members, forming alternately inverted equilateral triangle -shaped spaces along its length, ensuring that no individual strut , beam, or tie

3600-506: Is built. Most rapid transit trains are electric multiple units with lengths from three to over ten cars. Crew sizes have decreased throughout history, with some modern systems now running completely unstaffed trains. Other trains continue to have drivers, even if their only role in normal operation is to open and close the doors of the trains at stations. Power is commonly delivered by a third rail or by overhead wires . The whole London Underground network uses fourth rail and others use

3720-626: Is located near Historic Overtown/Lyric Theater station in Downtown Miami . The headquarters of Miami-Dade Transit, also located next to Historic Overtown/Lyric Theater station, is known as the Overtown Transit Village. Brownsville Transit Village, opening in March 2012, was visited by the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Lisa P. Jackson , on January 5, 2012, to tour

Metrorail (Miami-Dade County) - Misplaced Pages Continue

3840-416: Is necessary, rolling stock with a smaller loading gauge from one sub network may be transported along other lines that use larger trains. On some networks such operations are part of normal services. Most rapid transit systems use conventional standard gauge railway track . Since tracks in subway tunnels are not exposed to rain , snow , or other forms of precipitation , they are often fixed directly to

3960-555: Is referred to simply as "the subway", despite 40% of the system running above ground. The term "L" or "El" is not used for elevated lines in general as the lines in the system are already designated with letters and numbers. The "L" train or L (New York City Subway service) refers specifically to the 14th Street–Canarsie Local line, and not other elevated trains. Similarly, the Toronto Subway is referred to as "the subway", with some of its system also running above ground. These are

4080-412: Is serviced by at least one specific route with trains stopping at all or some of the line's stations. Most systems operate several routes, and distinguish them by colors, names, numbering, or a combination thereof. Some lines may share track with each other for a portion of their route or operate solely on their own right-of-way. Often a line running through the city center forks into two or more branches in

4200-748: Is the most commonly used term for underground rapid transit systems used by non-native English speakers. Rapid transit systems may be named after the medium by which passengers travel in busy central business districts ; the use of tunnels inspires names such as subway , underground , Untergrundbahn ( U-Bahn ) in German, or the Tunnelbana (T-bana) in Swedish. The use of viaducts inspires names such as elevated ( L or el ), skytrain , overhead , overground or Hochbahn in German. One of these terms may apply to an entire system, even if

4320-627: The Dublin Area Rapid Transit is despite the name considered a commuter rail due to usage of mainline railways. In France, large cities, such as Paris , Marseille and Lyon , feature a Métro . Also the smaller cities of Lille Rennes have a light metro. Furthermore, Brussels in Belgium, and Amsterdam and Rotterdam in the Netherlands have metro systems in place. Several Southern European contries also have

4440-766: The Health District , Downtown Miami , and Brickell with the northern developed neighborhoods of Hialeah and Medley to the northwest, and to suburban The Roads , Coconut Grove , Coral Gables , and South Miami , ending at urban Dadeland in Kendall . Metrorail connects to the Metromover in Downtown, which provides metro service to the entirety of Downtown and Brickell . Additionally, it connects to South Florida's commuter rail system at Tri-Rail station , as well as Metrobus routes at all stations. In 2023,

4560-584: The Historic Overtown/Lyric Theatre station . By the late 2000s recession , it was realized that only the 2.4-mile (3.9 km) AirportLink of the Orange Line would be funded, and after service cuts in 2008, Metrorail was running fewer trains than before the tax was passed. In response to all this, The Miami Herald published a comprehensive exposé titled "Taken For A Ride, How the transit tax went off track", detailing all of

4680-752: The Hudson and Manhattan Railroad K-series cars from 1958, the New York City Subway R38 and R42 cars from the late-1960s, and the Nagoya Municipal Subway 3000 series , Osaka Municipal Subway 10 series and MTR M-Train EMUs from the 1970s, were generally only made possible largely due to the relatively generous loading gauges of these systems and also adequate open-air sections to dissipate hot air from these air conditioning units. Especially in some rapid transit systems such as

4800-429: The London Underground . In 1868, New York opened the elevated West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway , initially a cable-hauled line using stationary steam engines . As of 2021 , China has the largest number of rapid transit systems in the world  – 40 in number, running on over 4,500 km (2,800 mi) of track – and was responsible for most of the world's rapid-transit expansion in

4920-740: The Metropolitan Railway opened publicly in London in 1863. High capacity monorails with larger and longer trains can be classified as rapid transit systems. Such monorail systems recently started operating in Chongqing and São Paulo . Light metro is a subclass of rapid transit that has the speed and grade separation of a "full metro" but is designed for smaller passenger numbers. It often has smaller loading gauges, lighter train cars and smaller consists of typically two to four cars. Light metros are typically used as feeder lines into

Metrorail (Miami-Dade County) - Misplaced Pages Continue

5040-578: The Montreal Metro (opened 1966) and Sapporo Municipal Subway (opened 1971), their entirely enclosed nature due to their use of rubber-tyred technology to cope with heavy snowfall experienced by both cities in winter precludes any air-conditioning retrofits of rolling stock due to the risk of heating the tunnels to temperatures that would be too hot for passengers and for train operations. In many cities, metro networks consist of lines operating different sizes and types of vehicles. Although these sub-networks may not often be connected by track, in cases when it

5160-730: The Palmetto Expressway , Palmetto and Okeechobee, appeal to Broward County commuters with nearly 2,000 combined spaces. Additionally, the proposed North Corridor to the Broward /Miami-Dade county line would have included five park and ride facilities totaling 2,650 spaces. In the late 1990s, the plan was to potentially even continue the Metrorail line into Broward County along 27th Avenue (University Drive), ending at Broward Boulevard near Broward Mall in Plantation . After

5280-589: The Prague Metro . The London Underground and Paris Métro are densely built systems with a matrix of crisscrossing lines throughout the cities. The Chicago 'L' has most of its lines converging on The Loop , the main business, financial, and cultural area. Some systems have a circular line around the city center connecting to radially arranged outward lines, such as the Moscow Metro 's Koltsevaya Line and Beijing Subway 's Line 10 . The capacity of

5400-640: The Rental Car Center . In 1964 the Miami Urban Area Transportation Study was initiated by the Dade County metropolitan planning organization . It was completed in 1971 and recommended the construction for a rapid transit system for Greater Miami. Having experienced a prolonged post- World War II population boom, metropolitan Dade County's permanent population rose by 35% to nearly 1.3 million residents within

5520-685: The Singapore MRT , Changi Airport MRT station has the alphanumeric code CG2, indicating its position as the 2nd station on the Changi Airport branch of the East West Line. Interchange stations have at least two codes, for example, Raffles Place MRT station has two codes, NS26 and EW14, the 26th station on the North South Line and the 14th station on the East West Line. The Seoul Metro is another example that utilizes

5640-630: The Universal Transit Vehicle ) built by the Budd Company under the name "Transit America"; they are identical to those used on the Baltimore Metro SubwayLink (save for the modifications made to Baltimore's cars during their refurbishment between 2002 and 2005), as the two systems were built at the same time, and the two agencies were able to save money by sharing a single order. The Baltimore-Miami order

5760-450: The deep tube lines . Historically, rapid transit trains used ceiling fans and openable windows to provide fresh air and piston-effect wind cooling to riders. From the 1950s to the 1990s (and in most of Europe until the 2000s), many rapid transit trains from that era were also fitted with forced-air ventilation systems in carriage ceiling units for passenger comfort. Early rapid transit rolling stock fitted with air conditioning , such as

5880-409: The linear motor for propulsion. Some urban rail lines are built to a loading gauge as large as that of main-line railways ; others are built to a smaller one and have tunnels that restrict the size and sometimes the shape of the train compartments. One example is most of the London Underground , which has acquired the informal term "tube train" due to the cylindrical shape of the trains used on

6000-742: The right-of-way along US 1 to Miami-Dade Transit, then named the Metro Transit Agency. Groundbreaking for the system the county commission voted to be named "Metrorail" (working name was DART - Dade Area Rapid Transit) took place at the site of what would become University station in June. Construction began in December 1980 with placing of a double-tee guideway girder near the University of Miami . The entire original 21 mi (34 km) line contained 2,704 girders, constructed at

6120-432: The 15 world largest subway systems suggested a universal shape composed of a dense core with branches radiating from it. Rapid transit operators have often built up strong brands , often focused on easy recognition – to allow quick identification even in the vast array of signage found in large cities – combined with the desire to communicate speed, safety, and authority. In many cities, there

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6240-488: The 1995 Tokyo subway sarin gas attack and the 2005 " 7/7 " terrorist bombings on the London Underground. Some rapid transport trains have extra features such as wall sockets, cellular reception, typically using a leaky feeder in tunnels and DAS antennas in stations, as well as Wi-Fi connectivity. The first metro system in the world to enable full mobile phone reception in underground stations and tunnels

6360-515: The 2.4 mile AirportLink and Orange Line remained promised and realized. The credibility of Miami-Dade Transit and the county as a whole, including the validity of their ridership estimates and revenue forecasts, has been a significant impediment to their qualifications for funding under the Federal Transit Administration 's (FTA) approval. In 2011, Miami-Dade Transit underwent a serious federal investigation and takeover by

6480-621: The 2010s. The world's longest single-operator rapid transit system by route length is the Shanghai Metro . The world's largest single rapid transit service provider by number of stations (472 stations in total) is the New York City Subway . The busiest rapid transit systems in the world by annual ridership are the Shanghai Metro, Tokyo subway system , Seoul Metro and the Moscow Metro . The term Metro

6600-532: The 21st century, most new expansions and systems are located in Asia, with China becoming the world's leader in metro expansion, operating some of the largest and busiest systems while possessing almost 60 cities that are operating, constructing or planning a rapid transit system . Rapid transit is used for local transport in cities , agglomerations , and metropolitan areas to transport large numbers of people often short distances at high frequency . The extent of

6720-689: The 24-hour Metrorail service cancelled due to a lack of ridership. Construction on the first segment of the Orange Line, Metrorail's AirportLink began in May 2009; service to Miami International Airport began in the summer of 2012. On August 21, 2019, Miami-Dade Transit launched contactless payments acceptance on the Metrorail which enabled transit riders to use their smartphone devices (Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay), as well as smart watches (Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Fitbit Pay) to tap and go at all stations. Fare gates were updated instead of replaced to save money. Currently Miami-Dade Transit doesn't allow Express Transit Mode on iOS. The company behind

6840-674: The 490-unit development, which will save an estimated five million gallons of water and $ 50,000 annually in utility bills due to environmentally sustainable plumbing fixtures. Nonetheless, by 2016, Brownsville and Santa Clara were still the lowest ridership stations, the only ones to regularly post ridership numbers below 1,000 daily. In general, stations to the north of Civic Center see much lower ridership, on average one-third of stations from Civic Center south. They are mostly in industrial areas with low population density and little development, as well as stagnant or declining populations, such as Gladeview and Brownsville . Additionally, stations to

6960-475: The Airport Link in 2012, Metrorail increased its service frequency to peak headways of three and a half to five minutes on the shared portion of the line from Dadeland South to Earlington Heights. Along with the Metrorail system, the tracks are mostly elevated. The three sections that are not are under I-95 between Vizcaya and Brickell stations, under I-95 just east of Culmer station, and the northern end of

7080-540: The Downtown Express only stopped at Dadeland South , Dadeland North , Brickell , and Government Center stations. The service was well received, though it only saved a few minutes' time, partially due to the headway limitations with a system only having two tracks. The service continued past December. The Downtown Express is no longer in use. Metrorail runs from the northwest in Medley through Hialeah , into

7200-671: The FTA in which it was forced to open its books over suspicions of money mismanagement. The Agency threatened to cease its funding used to cover operational costs, which would have meant significant cuts in service; however, they took the funding under their strict control to prevent this from happening. The South Link expansion, which was intended to replace the South Miami-Dade Busway , a bus rapid transit that opened in segments on February 3, 1997, and in April 2005, had plans for

7320-862: The Hitachi Rail factory in West Plains, Missouri , and in February 2018 it was announced that the final replacement cars would not arrive before 2020. The shortage of replacement cars resulted in some Metrorail runs being operated as two-car trains. As of August 3, 2024, the current standard fare on Metrorail is $ 2.25 and reduced fare is $ 1.10. A standard monthly pass costs $ 112.50 and $ 56.25 for reduced fare. The monthly Easy Cards are sold at over 50 sales outlets. Reduced fares are available only to Medicare recipients, people with disabilities , and Miami-Dade students in grades 1 through 12. Children below 42 inches (110 cm) tall ride free when accompanied by

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7440-561: The MIC, the Orange Line connects to Tri-Rail , Greyhound intercity buses, and the MIA Mover , the airport's people mover. In addition to private development, several joint-development affordable housing projects have recently been constructed along the Metrorail line with the intent of increasing ridership through transit-oriented development. These projects include Santa Clara apartments, Brownsville Transit Village, and The Beacon, which

7560-586: The Metromover in Downtown Miami and Brickell, the entire Metro system operates 43 stations. Metrorail stations are located at about a mile (one and a half kilometer) apart along the line, and Metromover stations are located at approximately every two blocks in the greater Downtown area. Travel times provided are approximate for travel to and from Government Center in Downtown . From the beginning,

7680-632: The Metrorail bridge over the Miami River. Additional segments between Earlington Heights and Okeechobee opened between December 1984 and May 1985. In March 1989, a temporary station was opened to provide a connection to the newly opened Tri-Rail commuter rail line, with the now permanent station officially opening in June. Preliminary engineering for a rapid transit extension to the Palmetto Expressway began in 1996 with Palmetto station opening in May 2003. As far as operational costs, revenues expected for 2006 were $ 17.15 million, while expenses budgeted for 2006 were $ 41.29 million. These historic figures became

7800-400: The Metrorail was designed and envisioned to have more lines than the current two line system; however, the federally subsidized cost of the original line ended up over budget at $ 1.02 billion, after which ridership was much lower than expected. The proposed lines included: It was not until the half-penny transit tax was passed in 2002 that any serious expansion plans were again considered, with

7920-443: The Miami Intermodal Center (< 2,000). Year averages are rounded to the nearest 500, and the highest month is also given in bold. A trend of lower ridership during the summer can be seen, when the traffic and population of the county (and state) is generally lower. The low December ridership anomaly may be explained by the long Christmas and holiday season . By 2016, ridership started to decrease, especially by summer, where July saw

8040-407: The North Corridor and East–West lines, both dubbed the "Orange Line," assuming the highest priority, while the possibility of 88.9 miles (143.1 km) of additional rail if all the extensions were built by 2030, was touted. However, after budget deficits, other uses of the tax revenue, and a downgrade of the North Corridor's funding priority to medium-low by the federal government, after 10 years only

8160-541: The Orange Line only runs between Earlington Heights and Miami International Airport, running every 15 minutes. Metrorail runs from 5 a.m. until midnight seven days a week. For a brief period from 2003 to April 2004 there was 24-hour service supported by the transit tax; between midnight and 5 a.m. trains arrived every 60 minutes. A limited-stop bus route, Route 500 Midnight Owl, operates hourly between 12:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. trip between Dadeland South and Government Center Metrorail stations. This bus service replaces

8280-433: The South-Dade Transitway Corridor, is currently an under construction gold standard bus rapid transit line with an expected start of revenue service in the fall of 2024. On November 16, 2022, Miami-Dade County announced that they would accelerate construction on the North Corridor along NW 27th Avenue from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza station to Hard Rock Stadium at NW 199th Street in Miami Gardens, Florida , with

8400-432: The Spain-based Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles . CAF's bid was slightly higher than that of AnsaldoBreda, and thus Miami-Dade was prepared to award the contract to the latter. However, the contract was stalled when CAF filed a lawsuit against the transit authority, claiming that their selection of AnsladoBreda was due to the fact that the builder was willing to open a local factory in Miami-Dade County to assemble

8520-428: The beginning of rapid transit. Initial experiences with steam engines, despite ventilation, were unpleasant. Experiments with pneumatic railways failed in their extended adoption by cities. In 1890, the City & South London Railway was the first electric-traction rapid transit railway, which was also fully underground. Prior to opening, the line was to be called the "City and South London Subway", thus introducing

8640-429: The cars expected to be delivered over the course of several years until 2017. By the time the custom rail-car building facility in Medley was completed in early 2016, AnsaldoBreda had been purchased by Hitachi Rail and the full rollout was pushed back to 2019, beginning gradually from 2017. The first trainset entered service in early December 2017. The delivery of the cars fell behind schedule once again due to flooding at

8760-501: The city of Miami, the downtown area, through Coral Gables and South Miami , and ending in southwest Miami-Dade at Dadeland Mall. There are 23 accessible Metrorail stations, one about every 1.25 mi (2.012 km). Metrorail connects to the Metromover system at Government Center and Brickell stations and to South Florida 's Tri-Rail suburban commuter rail system at the Tri-Rail station (see below). Since completion of

8880-478: The city. Nearly all of the stations outside of downtown Miami have parking facilities, except Tri-Rail station. Several have large parking garages , such as Dadeland North and South stations, located at the southern end of the system, which combined have space for over 3,000 cars. Earlington Heights , located just northwest of Downtown and adjacent to Interstate 95 and the Airport Expressway , has

9000-432: The congested South Dixie Highway . During the 1990s, ridership growth was relatively stagnant, however, and Metrorail remained the subject of criticism. At this time, ridership was up to about 50,000 per day, about a quarter of the original ridership estimate. Although the original referendum for a one-cent transit sales tax increase had failed in 1999, a half-cent sales surtax (Charter County Transit System Surtax) increase

9120-414: The display of the transit network. Often this has the effect of compressing the distance between stations in the outer area of the system, and expanding distances between those close to the center. Some systems assign unique alphanumeric codes to each of their stations to help commuters identify them, which briefly encodes information about the line it is on, and its position on the line. For example, on

9240-461: The downtown area and Tri-Rail station have dedicated parking available. Parking costs $ 4.50 per day or $ 11.50 for a monthly pass. On July 16, 2008, Miami-Dade Transit announced that it would be replacing all fare collection methods with the Easy Card system by late 2009. The system replaces the old cash and token-based system with one that automatically deducts fares at Metrorail fare gates from

9360-437: The end of that year. The transit tax also funded improvements to the adjoining Metromover system, including removal of the 25 cent fare, with the idea that higher ridership on the system would lead to higher Metrorail ridership, as well as the realization that the cost of fare collection exceeded fare revenue. The original Metrorail line was initially planned to be built to the airport, but due to political pressure and lobbying

9480-611: The entire metropolitan area is called Metra (short for Met ropolitan Ra il), while its rapid transit system that serves the city is called the "L" . Boston's subway system is known locally as "The T". In Atlanta , the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority goes by the acronym "MARTA." In the San Francisco Bay Area , residents refer to Bay Area Rapid Transit by its acronym "BART". The New York City Subway

9600-679: The evening it is not uncommon for Miami-Dade Transit to link two out-of-service trains together before returning them to Lehman Yard. Trains are stored at the Lehman Yard just west of Okeechobee station. There are extra tracks and a new test track, known as the Lehman Center Test Track, built at the Lehman Yard. Metrorail currently uses 136 heavy-rail cars built by the Hitachi Rail Italy , the first of which started running in December 2017. They were constructed in

9720-508: The existing Metrorail cars with the money instead of replacing them as promised. However, it was found that the fleet had never been maintained properly, and in 2008, a cost-benefit analysis found that, based on the current fleet's condition, a refurbishment would cost just as much as it would to buy new cars, if not more so. There were discussions with Washington, D.C.'s Metro system about combining car orders with their 6000-series cars to achieve lower costs through economies of scale , but

9840-530: The fare systems is Cubic Transportation Systems, a partner with MDT since the beginning of the Easy Card/Ticket implementation. Beneath the Metrorail guideway from Brickell to Dadeland South, along the former Florida East Coast Railway right-of-way, there is a nearly contiguous 10.5 mi (17 km) bicycle and pedestrian trail known as the MetroPath (M-Path) which was built in 1984 along with

9960-516: The floor rather than resting on ballast , such as normal railway tracks. An alternate technology, using rubber tires on narrow concrete or steel roll ways , was pioneered on certain lines of the Paris Métro and Mexico City Metro , and the first completely new system to use it was in Montreal , Canada. On most of these networks, additional horizontal wheels are required for guidance, and

10080-399: The initial segment of the single Green Line opened, Metrorail saw less than 10,000 riders per day. This increased to 15,000 after the rest of the line and stations opened in late 1984 and 1985. After running out of money due to cost overruns , the originally planned to be 50 miles (80 km) system consisting of several lines was never completed, and lack of transit-oriented development along

10200-439: The interconnections between different parts of the system; for example, they show the interchange stations where passengers can transfer between lines. Unlike conventional maps, transit maps are usually not geographically accurate, but emphasize the topological connections among the different stations. The graphic presentation may use straight lines and fixed angles, and often a fixed minimum distance between stations, to simplify

10320-494: The last the Miami Dade Transit Authority ever disclosed, and are the figures still displayed on today's Miami-Dade Transit webpage as of January 2012. With the area having a generally low density and lacking transit-oriented development , the Metrorail was designed as a park and ride system, with the idea being that suburban residents would drive to the stations, then commute the rest of the way into

10440-602: The line from just east of the Palmetto Expressway heading west into the Palmetto station and tail track. In each of these cases, the tracks ride on the ground level for a brief amount of time. The platform at each Metrorail station is long enough to accommodate six-car-long trains; the Dadeland North, Earlington Heights, and Government Center station platforms are long enough to accommodate eight-car-long trains. In-service trains are usually either four or six cars long; in

10560-484: The line had opened. Ridership continued to grow in the late 1980s, with an edge city -like area known as Dadeland in suburban Kendall growing up around the southern terminus of the line at Dadeland North and Dadeland South stations. Consequently, the southern nine stations from Kendall to Downtown Miami have higher ridership than the northern end. This part of the system also has a higher average speed, having fewer curves and long distances between stations as it follows

10680-602: The lines of the Lyon Metro includes a section of rack (cog) railway , while the Carmelit , in Haifa, is an underground funicular . For elevated lines, another alternative is the monorail , which can be built either as straddle-beam monorails or as a suspended monorail . While monorails have never gained wide acceptance outside Japan, there are some such as Chongqing Rail Transit 's monorail lines which are widely used in

10800-430: The lowest ridership since the Orange Line opened in 2012. This lag follows Metrobus , which began to decline in 2014, amid an aging fleet and falling oil and gas prices, and posted the lowest ridership numbers in over a decade during June and July 2016. For October 2016, even Metromover recorded low ridership, though the low numbers for this specific month were blamed on one day of closure for Hurricane Matthew . 2017 saw

10920-557: The main rapid transit system. For instance, the Wenhu Line of the Taipei Metro serves many relatively sparse neighbourhoods and feeds into and complements the high capacity metro lines. Some systems have been built from scratch, others are reclaimed from former commuter rail or suburban tramway systems that have been upgraded, and often supplemented with an underground or elevated downtown section. Ground-level alignments with

11040-715: The metro system. It is popular among cyclists, some of whom use it to commute to and from downtown, as well as runners. In 2014, plans were made to revamp the MetroPath as a linear park , taking after the popular High Line in New York City, by a group known as "Friends of the GreenLink. The University of Miami assisted in the procurement of the idea. Into 2015, the proposal gained momentum and rebranded itself as [Friends of] "The Underline". The full park will be completed in phases and will be fully complete in 2025. Metrorail currently operates 23 stations, and combined with

11160-418: The network map "readable" by illiterate people, this system has since become an "icon" of the system. Compared to other modes of transport, rapid transit has a good safety record, with few accidents. Rail transport is subject to strict safety regulations , with requirements for procedure and maintenance to minimize risk. Head-on collisions are rare due to use of double track, and low operating speeds reduce

11280-402: The next vehicle will arrive, and expected travel times. The standardized GTFS data format for transit information allows many third-party software developers to produce web and smartphone app programs which give passengers customized updates regarding specific transit lines and stations of interest. Mexico City Metro uses a unique pictogram for each station. Originally intended to help make

11400-420: The next year with only 25% in the starting year. Note the large jump in ridership starting September 2012 after the Orange Line extension to MIA opened, the largest project that came to fruition after the passing of the half-penny tax in 2002. Service frequency below Earlington Heights was doubled as a result, hence the ridership jumped by nearly 10,000, at least four times the ridership of the single new station at

11520-495: The north of Earlington Heights are only served by one line, giving them much longer headways . In December 2015, Miami-Dade Transit began the Downtown Express , a monthlong pilot program for express service between key stations during rush hours. During morning rush, many stations are skipped from the north and south en route to downtown, and in the afternoon, stations are skipped as the trains leave downtown. Hence,

11640-958: The occurrence and severity of rear-end collisions and derailments . Fire is more of a danger underground, such as the King's Cross fire in London in November 1987, which killed 31 people. Systems are generally built to allow evacuation of trains at many places throughout the system. High platforms , usually over 1 meter / 3 feet, are a safety risk, as people falling onto the tracks have trouble climbing back. Platform screen doors are used on some systems to eliminate this danger. Rapid transit facilities are public spaces and may suffer from security problems: petty crimes , such as pickpocketing and baggage theft, and more serious violent crimes , as well as sexual assaults on tightly packed trains and platforms. Security measures include video surveillance , security guards , and conductors . In some countries

11760-603: The only two North American systems that are primarily called "subways". In most of Southeast Asia and in Taiwan , rapid transit systems are primarily known by the acronym MRT . The meaning varies from one country to another. In Indonesia , the acronym stands for Moda Raya Terpadu or Integrated Mass [Transit] Mode in English. In the Philippines , it stands for Metro Rail Transit . Two underground lines use

11880-587: The outset. Budapest , Chicago , Glasgow , Boston and New York City all converted or purpose-designed and built electric rail services. Advancements in technology have allowed new automated services. Hybrid solutions have also evolved, such as tram-train and premetro , which incorporate some of the features of rapid transit systems. In response to cost, engineering considerations and topological challenges some cities have opted to construct tram systems, particularly those in Australia, where density in cities

12000-447: The promises that were not kept as well as what money was misspent and how. Despite the service cuts, due to the rise in energy prices and ever-increasing congestion, as well as a significant amount of residential development in the downtown area, ridership continued to grow during the 2000s, averaging well over 60,000 weekday riders throughout 2011. However, this is still short of the 1985 estimate of 75,000 daily riders that were expected by

12120-908: The rapid transit system varies greatly between cities, with several transport strategies. Some systems may extend only to the limits of the inner city, or to its inner ring of suburbs with trains making frequent station stops. The outer suburbs may then be reached by a separate commuter rail network where more widely spaced stations allow higher speeds. In some cases the differences between urban rapid transit and suburban systems are not clear. Rapid transit systems may be supplemented by other systems such as trolleybuses , regular buses , trams , or commuter rail. This combination of transit modes serves to offset certain limitations of rapid transit such as limited stops and long walking distances between outside access points. Bus or tram feeder systems transport people to rapid transit stops. Each rapid transit system consists of one or more lines , or circuits. Each line

12240-542: The rubber tires. However, they have higher maintenance costs and are less energy efficient. They also lose traction when weather conditions are wet or icy, preventing above-ground use of the Montréal Metro and limiting it on the Sapporo Municipal Subway, but not rubber-tired systems in other cities. Some cities with steep hills incorporate mountain railway technologies in their metros. One of

12360-405: The single line led to the system being regarded as a boondoggle . President Ronald Reagan commented that, given the low number of riders, it would have been cheaper to buy them all a limousine than the billion dollar cost of building and subsidizing the system. The federal subsidy was approximately $ 800 million of the $ 1.02 billion used to fund the line. Ridership was up to 15,000 after the rest of

12480-519: The start of work. It was also announced that Phase II would include park-and-ride facilities added at five of the eight total stations. As of June 2024, the extension will be completed by 2036. Sortable chart detailing monthly weekday ridership averages by calendar year; right hand chart giving annual averages may use "fiscal year" without disclosure, where the FY begins in October and has 75% of its time in

12600-663: The suburbs, allowing a higher service frequency in the center. This arrangement is used by many systems, such as the Copenhagen Metro , the Milan Metro , the Oslo Metro , the Istanbul Metro and the New York City Subway . Alternatively, there may be a single central terminal (often shared with the central railway station), or multiple interchange stations between lines in the city center, for instance in

12720-746: The system had 13,439,300 rides, and about 49,300 per day in the third quarter of 2024. In 2012, Metrorail opened its 23rd station, Miami International Airport station , at Miami International Airport (MIA), beginning service on a newly created 16-station Orange Line between the MIA and Dadeland South stations. The new line has helped increase ridership significantly, adding millions of riders per year and allowing residents and visitors alike direct access from MIA to Downtown Miami , as well as greater connectivity between various modes of transit throughout Miami-Dade County. The station provides direct service to Tri-Rail commuter rail , Greyhound Lines intercity bus, and

12840-675: The system, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA, then, the Urban Mass Transit Administration) committed 80% of the costs for the first stage of rapid transit system, with the county and state incurring the remaining cost. In the end the system cost over a billion dollars. In April 1979, the Interstate Commerce Commission ratified an agreement between the Florida East Coast Railway and Dade County to transfer

12960-408: The talks failed to work anything out. The following year, Miami-Dade issued an RFP for new cars to replace their existing fleet, at a cost no greater than $ 2.419 million per car. Proposals from three railcar manufacturers were reviewed, with only two of which meeting the price requirements, these being from Italy-based AnsaldoBreda and Elmira Heights, New York -based CAF USA, an American branch of

13080-714: The term subway . In Thailand , it stands for Metropolitan Rapid Transit , previously using the Mass Rapid Transit name. Outside of Southeast Asia, Kaohsiung and Taoyuan, Taiwan , have their own MRT systems which stands for Mass Rapid Transit , as with Singapore and Malaysia . In general rapid transit is a synonym for "metro" type transit, though sometimes rapid transit is defined to include "metro", commuter trains and grade separated light rail . Also high-capacity bus-based transit systems can have features similar to "metro" systems. The opening of London's steam-hauled Metropolitan Railway in 1863 marked

13200-467: The term Subway into railway terminology. Both railways, alongside others, were eventually merged into London Underground . The 1893 Liverpool Overhead Railway was designed to use electric traction from the outset. The technology quickly spread to other cities in Europe , the United States, Argentina, and Canada, with some railways being converted from steam and others being designed to be electric from

13320-511: The trains, requiring custom-made trains in order to minimize gaps between train and platform. They are typically integrated with other public transport and often operated by the same public transport authorities . Some rapid transit systems have at-grade intersections between a rapid transit line and a road or between two rapid transit lines. The world's first rapid transit system was the partially underground Metropolitan Railway which opened in 1863 using steam locomotives , and now forms part of

13440-601: The use of communications-based train control : the minimum headway can reach 90 seconds, but many systems typically use 120 seconds to allow for recovery from delays. Typical capacity lines allow 1,200 people per train, giving 36,000 passengers per hour per direction . However, much higher capacities are attained in East Asia with ranges of 75,000 to 85,000 people per hour achieved by MTR Corporation 's urban lines in Hong Kong. Rapid transit topologies are determined by

13560-408: The vehicles. This violation could render the deal ineligible for federal funding . After reevaluating the bids from the builders, without taking local geographic preference into account, Miami-Dade reaffirmed its selection of AnsaldoBreda, and in November 2012, approved a $ 313 million purchase of 136 new Metrorail cars from the company. Miami-Dade issued the notice to proceed the following month, with

13680-559: Was Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system, which launched its first underground mobile phone network using AMPS in 1989. Many metro systems, such as the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway (MTR) and the Berlin U-Bahn, provide mobile data connections in their tunnels for various network operators. The technology used for public, mass rapid transit has undergone significant changes in the years since

13800-676: Was among the last orders Budd filled before shuttering its railcar manufacturing business; a fleet of similar vehicles was manufactured by Società Italiana Ernesto Breda for the Red and Purple lines of the Los Angeles Metro Rail between 1988 and 2000. These cars were manufactured in Budd's Red Lion plant in Northeast Philadelphia in 1983. The cars are 75 feet (23 m) long, 10 feet (3.0 m) wide and have

13920-899: Was developed further. Other Central European countries also have metro lines, for example in the cities of Budapest (Hungary), Prague (Czech Republic) and Warsaw (Poland). In Eastern Europe , metro systems are in operation in Minsk (Belarus), Kyiv (Ukraine), Riga (Latvia), Vilnius (Lithuania) and Moscow (Russia). In Southeastern European countries, there are metro systems in Athens and Thessaloniki (Greece), Belgrade (Serbia), Sofia (Bulgaria) and Istanbul (Turkey). In Northern Europe , rapid transit systems exist in Copenhagen (Denmark), Oslo (Norway), Stockholm (Sweden) and Helsinki (Finland). Various terms are used for rapid transit systems around North America . The term metro

14040-533: Was instead directed to its current alignment around the airport and to Hialeah . In May 2009, Miami-Dade County broke ground on the AirportLink project, a 2.4-mile (3.9 km) extension of Metrorail connecting the existing Earlington Heights station to the Miami Intermodal Center (MIC), located adjacent to Miami International Airport 's rental car center. The AirportLink was considered

14160-702: Was low and suburbs tended to spread out . Since the 1970s, the viability of underground train systems in Australian cities, particularly Sydney and Melbourne , has been reconsidered and proposed as a solution to over-capacity. Melbourne had tunnels and stations developed in the 1970s and opened in 1980. The first line of the Sydney Metro was opened in 2019. Since the 1960s, many new systems have been introduced in Europe , Asia and Latin America . In

14280-474: Was passed by a two-to-one margin by Miami-Dade County voters in November 2002, with the intention being for the revenue to go fully towards the funding of new transit lines, including the Metrorail Orange Line, new bus routes, and increased service. Metrorail briefly ran a 24-hour hourly service from 12am to 5am and rush hour peak headways were reduced to 6 minutes, but the idea of the transit tax

14400-424: Was sold to voters as being able to fund up to 88.9 miles (143.1 km) of additional Metrorail track by the 2030 long range plan, beginning with a completion of an Orange Line north corridor and east–west line by 2016. As it turned out, Miami-Dade Transit was running a deficit and used some of the tax to close the books, as well as using some to hire new staff, pay rent, and buy furniture for their new headquarters at

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