"don't worry, my area is clean." I lost it.

"On the walls, we see a wallpaper that looks like an unrenovated beachside motel" well it is a Floridian train after all 😂! The guy going "WOOOO" when getting off at the Tri-Rail Transfer was priceless, bro was excited to transfer lol! The Tri-Rail/Metrorail Transfer station is located in Hialeah! Hialeah comes from a Seminole word that basically means "high prairie". Hialeah was where Amelia Earhart in June 1937 said her final good-byes to the continental US as she left on her ill-fated second attempt flight around the world (her journey began in Oakland in May). Its Hialeah Park Race Track is why the flamingo is synonymous with the state as the racetrack's lake was stocked with many flamingos imported from Cuba in the 1930s, attracting people from all over! Flamingos used to be abundant in FL before the 1900s but disappeared and since then, wild ones only show up in small numbers. I had a feeling you'd love the palm tree and blue-sky livery! It's quintessentially Floridian, it's one of my favorite liveries alongside the New Mexico Rail Runner (bonus points for the doors closing sound on the Rail Runner being the roadrunner from the Wile E. Coyote cartoons) and it really made the trains stand out! Interestingly, when Tri-Rail began operations, they had bi-levels in the GO livery! It's not because they were used or sold secondhand by GO, but rather that's just how they were newly delivered to Tri-Rail from the former Urban Transportation Development Corporation! They were only leased by GO for a short period of time

Opa-locka was founded by aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss in 1926. Curtiss developed the city with a Moorish architecture theme, thus it has the largest collection of Moorish Revival architecture in the Western Hemisphere! Opa-locka is an abbreviation of a Seminole place name, spelled Opatishawockalocka which means "wooded hummock" or "high, dry hummock". It's definitely one of the best station names in the world, one of my favorites alongside Hoyt-Schermerhorn, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, Yaphank, and Ronkonkoma! Ronkonkoma on the LIRR comes from an Algonquian word that means "boundary fishing-lake", so when people say Lake Ronkonkoma, they're really saying Lake Boundary-fishing lake, kinda like how people say the Sahara Desert when Sahara means desert in Arabic! I just love Native American names in general because they sound so cool! Since you rode a bus here too, in Miami and Cuba, the word for bus is guagua! This is also the word for bus in Puerto Rico and the Canary Islands, as many Canarians migrated (including my great grandmother) from the Canary Islands to Cuba and PR! The word guagua is an onomatopoeia stemming from the sound of a Klaxon horn. That terminal connector shuttle reminds me of the parking lot trams at the Disney parks! Disney World's parking lot trams were designed by Bob Gurr, originally designed to handle the steep grade of the Seven Seas Lagoon underpass while carrying so many people, though trams no longer use the underpass and just drop off guests at the TTC monorail/ferry station.

Great video of Tri-Rail and Metrorail. I am glad that Tri-Rail now serves Miami Central station now. I agree that the quality of the Tri-Rail Bombarider Bi Level cars could be much better.

I never would have guessed that this train had such frequent service!!!!! I am wildly impressed.

Since moving to Florida back in 1983, I've become aware of both Tri-Rail and later Sun-Rail, but never had the opportunity to ride either one. Thank you for sharing.

This is the sort of thing that makes a difference in transit. It's not always flashy projects, but also projects that actually make multi modal transportation viable and convenient. Thanks!

My fave transportation couple🚂❤️🚂 you guys’ll have to comeback if the proposed Chicago-Miami Amtrak line happens… 🤘🏻🚂🌴

Tri-Rail to me is another commuter rail service that’s perfect for the Stadler Flirt DMU trains

I went to Miami in December 2019 and I never took Metrorail but I did take the people mover and it was convenient to get around between downtown Miami and Brickell (after I took the bus from Miami Beach to as close to Bayfront Park as I could). I did however take the 150 bus from Miami Beach to the airport which I took another train to get to the actual airport, I need to go back to Miami and take in the weather. In all seriousness, Miami’s Metrorail needs to be expanded and that golf cart terminal shuttle is the most on-brand Florida thing I’ve ever seen.

I can’t wait for your video about the Miami Metro Mover!!! That little train looks truly awesome!!! The Tri-Rail is an awesome transit option for the region too!!!

It's great to have you in South florida!

Being Florida residents, TriRail, MetroRail and MetroMover are on our radar. We have video trips planned to cover all 3 this year. Being from Orlando area we've covered Brightline and Sunrail a lot. If you come cover Sunrail let me know via IG, I'll ride with you. Great video. Can't wait to see your MetroMover video. We've ridden it but had suitcases so didn't vlog. Next time

Glad you rode our system! The metrorail is genuinely really nice and it’s very convenient for going downtown, just wish they built more lines. I used to go on tri rail as a kid, it wasn’t too dirty and there are the new hyundai rotem cars that are replacing the old bombardier ones thankfully. Our bus system is also pretty decent, really I just wish we could have some more especially with how big we are but at least we have what we have especially a commuter and metro system

I think for $1 I took the #1 bus from Ft. Lauderdale Airport to Aventura Mall in north Dade County/North Miam Beach area and used my .25 transfer to get on the S bus or the #120 to South Beach. Took a while but great scenery and was relaxing and lots of nice people on the bus, also had time to eat at the Aventura Food Court.

Awesome video! I actually rode the tri rail Rotem type and it was amazing!

3:32 someone sounds excited for some transfers!

It worked for me!! Got me from Ft Lauderdale airport to Miami airport and back again both times to catch flights!!

You covered the rail systems pretty good. I've lived in Miami most of my life and made transit my career as well as hobby so I've seen a lot of changes. The new Tri-Rail service is so great to see. Metrorail is trying to expand with an extension up 27th Avenue, as well as a separate commuter rail line along the Brightline tracks under development. But this town honestly is such a hot mess that I'll believe it when I see shovels turning. "Please check your area..." is actually a post-9/11 relic, and when the old Budd cars were still around, the Operators would make that announcement over the PA. We had a lot of false alarms and scares due to people leaving bags behind and stuff. The FLL Tri-Rail shuttle bus actually has a timetable (it's called route FLA1) and depending on the time, the bus leaves 5 minutes after one train arrives, or waits for both trains to arrive. It's grown a lot, up until maybe 10 years ago it was using cutaway vans that were too small for the job. I've done the FLL golf cart shuttle a couple times lol. Good video!

Great video keep up the good work

Another great video. Here in South Florida, Brightline gets all of the attention, while Tri-Rail is vastly underrated. Yes, it's old and dirty-but many working-class folks use it, and it provides a great transfer to Miami Intl' airport. By the way, I NEVER take that golf cart thing at FLL...It's easier and probably quicker to walk!

The announcer on the Metro Rail completely sounds like the announcer on the VTA light rail in San Jose

I found this quite an interesting look into Miami's transit! I didn't know that the Miami International Airport had shuttle buses _and_ a "golf cart with trailers". Thanks for the video!

Looking at those liveries, can't help but be reminded of a novelty kid-friendly mixed juice carton but, joy of joys, the vinyl wrap leaves the windows clear \m/

I enjoyed that video👍👍

It sucks that you got a old version of the train. The new ones have much better bathrooms, better seats and tables, and a better water tap as well. It surprises me how Tri-Rail still hasn’t stopped operating these old bad trains

Great video sir!

I'm an Aussie from Sydney Australia who is vision impaired and cannot drive. About 8 years ago my sister was living in Pembroke Pines, Broward County Florida. I visited and wanted to do a day trip into Miami. It was going to take me 2.5 Hours for what is maybe a 45 minute drive. But being the Public Transport nerd I am i wanted to catch the Tri Rail. I caught an uber from Pembroke Pines to Hollywood Station which cut some time off rather slow Bus. It was at this moment that i realised how good Sydney's Public transport is. Is it the best? No! But its much better served than the Miami-West Palm Beach area which has over double the population. The Three counties just do not seem to talk to each other to privide good public transport to its less mobile residents. Back to my story...... I Arrived at Hollywood Station only to find no trains running....... Someone, Sadly had been hit by a train and the trains were not running between West palm beach and Golden Glades.......Buses will be replacing trains........ But by the time I had finished for the day I was able to catch the train all the way back to Hollywood.

Another good video as always

Good fun, Thom!

Thank You!

Almost forgot, big ups to you for using the timeless classic 1980s era block 'M' logo in your cover art. I don't mind the current 'M' logo as a marketing device, I just don't care for the era (post 2017) that it represents.

Surprised by the length and frequency. That's really cool.

Great video!

oh i LOVE the little shuttle trailer vehicel

Great video. I hope they soon get less polluting trains. Nice hybride stock would be a big step forward.

Great vid. Don't remember you mentioning it Metro Mover is free, use it all the time going to events in down town, will park anywere on the MM system and use it to go the event. Tri-rail is $5 a day on the weekends, there are newer rolling stock, I have gotten lucky and only been on newer ones.

Just went to Miami the other month and I had a guy warn me at a Metrorail station to not ride Tri-Rail for fun. Now I see why lol. Great video Thom!

For the past 2 years when I come to South Florida to visit, I fly into Miami and take Tri-Rail up to Delray Beach. It takes about 1.5 hours but it's really convenient and inexpensive. I don't have to worry about getting a ride to and from MIA. However, my only complaint is the 2 hour gap in service on Sunday night.

Thank you for this most enjoyable video ! I have used TRi-rail several times, and sadly the carriages have always been rather grubby and run-down. However, the frequency is excellent, and the service does operate very reliably. Hopefully there will be some new rolling stock soon, as the present stock does not give a good impression. In complete contrast, I hope you can have a ride on Sun Rail in Orlando, That is a superb operation, and the trains are kept in good condition, and always very clean. Hopefully it won’t be too long before Sun Rail runs into Orlando International Airport, enabling easy interchange with Brightline !

Thom: the last time I rode Tri-Rail was ~12 years ago, on a nostalgia trip because I was moving my family to Madison, Wisconsin, and wanted to get a last trip in. I rode in car 507. To call Tri-Rail “skanky” is to do the word “skanky” a disservice. To me, it looked like the train you were on hadn’t been cleaned since I left. Now, Metrorail: at least they got the new cars rolled out, otherwise you would’ve been riding on the originals from 1984 that I rode on when I was 14.

The big positive? people like it and use it. Trains are in bad shape? yes but for south Florida standards we ok with then for now Cant wait for the metro mover video. City Council of Miami Beach just voted to deny access to the metro mover extension that would have connected Miami Beach to downtown Miami and that's absolutely insane!

Great video! I've always kind of liked Miami. It has a cool vibe and I always immediately notice that the Atlantic Ocean vibe is different than California's Pacific Ocean vibe. It looks like Tri-Rail runs on the left in some parts, particularly at the station where you initially boarded "Transfer". The rest of it looked like it runs of the right. I call Chicago's UP-N Metra line the "wrong train" because it runs on the left otherwise I'll get on the right side platform instead of the "wrong" one. I think my favorite commuter rail livery is New Mexico's Rail Runner with the big red road runner on the engine with its feathers flowing back on the train cars: "beep beep". It's always disconcerting how American passenger railroads don't have the kind of self-respect, let alone the customer-respect, that you see in European or Asian railroads. It's like American railroads have a mission statement that says "Hey, you don't like filthy poorly maintained trains? You're lucky there's a train at all!" That ethic permeates almost all transportation infrastructure from rail transit, subways (Chicago's brand spanking new L cars are seriously outdated compared to other global metros), buses, Greyhound (compare Greyhound to Mexican long distance buses), to airlines (compare American to Emirates) and airports (fly into an airport like Singapore to see the difference). Most Americans don't travel overseas but when you do, you'll see how even much poorer countries have better transportation infrastructure than we do.

Thom, Tri-Rail should also get Siemens Charger SC-44s having the same paint scheme as their new bilevel coach cars!!!

Those train cars look like the exact same ones I used to take to school in 2005. The only difference is they seem to have reupholstered the seats. Tri-rail has always been half useful for as long as I can remember… surprised it’s more or less the same, including the hours, besides the airport extension. Glad to be in Chicago now.

That golf cart terminal connector seems very bizarre. Reminds me of the parking lot trams at Disney World 😂. Fun fact, Miami metro’s original Budd cars (now retired) are identical to the ones still in use on Baltimore’s subway. That’s because the two systems were constructed at the same time and they shared a joint order with Budd for their cars. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the Metromover!

wow i wanted to take tri- Rail

Tri-Rail train coaches are the same as GO Transit trains here in Canada.

Another "lets buy some bilevel cars and some refurb F40PHs and start a commuter railroad" commuter railroad. Between this and 90s era Siemens light rail systems I call those the two biggest glaring monuments to 90s era "there we did a transit" transit systems. Bonus points if they upgraded the locomotives to MP36s haha. I will give credit where it's due though, they do have service to both major airports in the area. It took RTD until 2016 to build a train to the airport in Denver. Though the RTD commuter rail is quite nice and really needs to be expanded.

I noticed the rebuilt F40PH propelling your train (personally, I prefer any of Tri-Rail's older locomotives over the newer Brookville BL36PH, although I'm not a fan of the new livery). Around a year ago, I made a video about the history of Tri-Rail's first locomotives; the unusual Morrison-Knudsen F40PHL-2. They were built using shortened ex-Burlington Northern F45 bodies on the frames of ex-ConRail GP40s. As for the state of the Bi-Level coaches, that certainly leaves a lot to be desired. Even so, I'd love to see Tri-Rail or SunRail in Train Sim World some day (preferably the latter because their locomotives are so weird).

I went to Deerfield Beach in January

I’ve never been that far south in Florida but I’d like to check out the transit systems there. I’ve heard all about them.

Tri-Rail cars originally were painted like GO transit cars.

1:53 Nice Catch on the 6-Pack, The System usually used 4 cars, but some used 6 cars

Thanks for your videos. I live In northern NJ & considered last year for Thanksgiving taking that train that carries cars when you take a sleeper. It would have cost almost $1,500.00 & it only goes from VA to Orlando. Do you have any thoughts? I have a house in Delray Beach. Also, I was looking to take an express train from Boca Raton to Miami but was not sure how easy it would be to go from Miami station to the beach or downtown but it seems that the Metro Mover might be the answer. Any suggestions? I really liked your video on the Metro Mover. Terry

Tri Rail is an interesting case when it comes to quality. It actually has a few different rolling stock models in service and unfortunately you were on the oldest one. Probably why a lot of stuff was so worn down they're likely just waiting for the carriages to give out. That's also why the aesthetic of the cars feel so "unrenovated beach hotel" and dated because well, that's what was contemporary at the time. You can actually see some of the newer rolling stock as you pass by the yard at 6:30, all of the carriages without the slants on the ends or rivets all over the livery are the newer models that do feel a LOT more modern in comparison (even the water fountains seem drinkable!), though they do still have work to be done in all honesty.

There's a lot of paper in that first Miami ticket machine presumably receipts people don't want and I bet that some people grab a piece of the paper thinking it's their ticket.

Well Tri-Rail is an alternative 2 i-95 and that Tri-Rail trains I've been upgraded and renovated because those libraries are over 10 years old yes travel amenities are not good because majority of the tribal stations do not have restrooms and the only ones that have restrooms is the ones who share their stations with Amtrak travel is one of the best commuter train services in South Florida and it's way much cheaper than white line and has far more stops because brightline is supposed to be an Express service and yes most stations are difficult to deal with and to get to but it is a nice cost efficient train service

👍👍👍

Tom, if you visit Orlando take a ride on Sun Rail

1:14 Is that Lindsey’s voice? Also this is Harrison again, I changed my channel name

I have always enjoyed the Tri-Rail. Yes their rolling stock could use some updates and a lot of their stations are not in the most convenient places. It is a shame they are changing the livery from the palm trees. I like how colorful they are and shows some character on the trains. The new stock looks a little generic. FLL is also one of my favorite airports to fly in and out of with some of the friendlier TSA agents working there.

✌🏾

Awesome 💯 🔥 Greetings from Palm Beach Florida 😎

Loved the video - it's a shame you got the Bombardier Bi-Levels. All cars, and engines, suffer from issues that either came from factory/rebuilding or due to the lack of maintenance that Tri-Rail does. There are some cleaner Bombardier cars that I've had the pleasure of using and some that, just make me ashamed of the system. The Rotems are a lot more clean and the bathrooms are a lot bigger AND cleaner compared to the aging Bombardiers. Sadly, those are not well kept either and have a lot of flat spots throughout the wheels which causes a very bumpy ride. The cars getting the new schemes don't even have an interior update and just keep the same interior as before. Hopefully, with the planned purchasing of new engines and coaches, they will be more well kept maintenance wise but who knows at this point. As someone who uses the system almost weekly to get to Deerfield Beach to run trains on Saturdays at the South Florida Railway Museum, it's a very big shame that most of these cars are not very clean and probably deter many possible passengers or future riders. Hopefully this doesn't deter you from riding again in the future - and possibly trying the Rotems - if you ever come back into Miami!

I think the reason it doesn't have extremely high ridership is because the roads are too acceptable and stations are hard to get to

FYI, MetroRail has been tap to pay for quite a while. The Intermodal Center has been ready for close to 10 years but Amtrak is to incompetent to figure out how to back up a train.

“Unrenovated beachside motel” - you have a great way of describing stuff! 😂

I grew up in SoCal and I was shocked by the disgusting condition of the tri-rail cars in this video! Metrolink, Metro, and OCTA might not be the classiest to say the least, but it’s infinitely better than that pigsty on rails.

A "transfer station" is the technical term for a place you drop garbage off at. Is this a statement against Floridians? I must say I really love the palm tree livery, it looks especially classy on the old riveted Bombardier coaches... even if the interiors resemble a 2-star motel. I like the bike rack arrangement since the ones I'm used to on Metrolink require people to stack their bikes on top of each other, which is confusing for coordinating who is getting off at which stop. Those airport shuttles remind me of the old Disneyland parking lot trams, which once caused me to vomit from the noxious diesel fumes as a kid.

You got unlucky with the older cars. Tri-Rail also operates with more modern Hyundai cars which are a lot cleaner, nicer, and the AC and bathrooms are much better. Also a problem that is reslly annoying as a daily rider is just how often Tri-Rail is behind schedule. Sometimes they straight up cancel certain trains without warning and I would say that about half of the time the trains are more than 5 minutes late. It's especially a problem when having to get tight connections with the bus routes that only run once every half an hour or even once an hour, I've lost my bus a couple of times because of it.

Did you went to Miami for business trip

That grade crossing just before Opa-Locka (7:30) is my biggest pet peeve with rail - there should be no reason to stop parallel traffic!

Brightline shuttle to the FLL airport is easier.

Why no through ticketing?

Tri rail have free wi fi ? ❤

Was your engine in the new livery?

I don’t get it. If there’s already a MetroRail line with a direct transfer station, what’s the point of the new shuttle service?

Too bad the new metro trains didn't feature open gangways, especially when Hitachi Italy is easily capable of doing it

When I lived in South FL in the 1990's, the Tri-Rail cars were used GO's from Toronto. Looks like whatever they "upgraded" to wasn't much better after a few years of lackadaisical maintenance...

Great video, Miami native born and raised. I remember seeing the Metrorail, Metromover, and Tri-rail go from vision, construction, to operations. 🚃🚅

Since the tracks that Tri-Rail uses are state owned, it seems like electrification should be considered for the future.

your witty criticisms remind me a bit of the CNSR's reviews kzfaq.info/get/bejne/oK-Jnap_1p_ef2w.html lol i wonder what your vids would look like with some funny editing and beats. this was cool. i didn't expect to want to visit Miami - I don't like hot climates, but between this and Brightline I might have to go peep it for an event or something

Who knows when Amtrak will serve the airport, a very big problem is trains are too long and complaints about blocking roads includung back roads inti the rental car center.

TRI RAIL F40PH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:( I hate that Homestead still doesnt have a connection to dadeland... we really could make miami great.///

you 3 service go to miami.

Too many empty seats. The love with cars and traffic is infinite. Regarding the old, smelly trains, it's time for some new Stadler trains!

I had no idea Florida had so many useful train lines, other than just the Brightline which has been in the national news so much. That's surprising, but also great. To me, beach communities should be places where you can walk everywhere and not need a car at all, so these intercity and airport connections could really help a car-free life down there.

I'm honestly surprised DeSantis hasn't come after the tiny bits of public transit Florida still has...

Tri Rail is great but needs either new bombardier bi level cars or the Stadler Flirts 4 car trains.

Absolutely disgusting train conditions, and the fact that you have to take a train 20 minutes west just to be able to get to FLL is convoluted. I don’t care how cheap it is, it’s never going to be a viable option for professionals that want the option to commute via rail.