[HD] Riding Metrorail and Tri-Rail Through Hialeah and Fort Lauderdale -...

This was a fun ride and probably a merit of Public Transportation in South Florida.

I went to see a friend purely at the behest of Public Transportation. The joyride was composed of three legs: Doral Trolley, Metrorail, and Tri-Rail.

The Doral Trolley leg was Route 2. It was incorporated first around 2010 and fine tuned in 2011 to link Doral citizens to the Metrorail. The route is extremely convenient given I would not need to pay for gas, much less parking to go ride Metrorail. The ride is also completely free, paid by taxes. If I tried to ride to my friend in 2010, I would not have a connector to ride to the Palmetto station and would need to take a bus.

The Metrorail was an OK ride; as usual nothing special, but a nice elevated vista. The pay arrangement was a headache though. I paid 7.00 for an Easy Card that was a must, and only rode the system once and not twice. Metrorail needs to be flexible in this and allow single rides for 2.00.

Tri-Rail was as expected the exciting part. I am big on trains so I enjoyed every minute of the ride. This system would have been tougher to ride a while back as before 2007, Tri-Rail was engaged in a double track project of the CSXT Miami Sub (South Florida Rail Corridor) which was for the most part single track. This streamlined operations of Tri-Rail and made it as convenient and frequent as it is today.

What I like about public transportation is the ability to cut back on gas costs. To see my friend in Cypress Creek, I would burn a quarter tank one way as it is. I did pay about the cost of that much gas (13.45), but that covered a full round trip. Now, as of 2012, the services are quite convenient as I could literally walk to the modes that bring me as far as West Palm, or even farther by way of a few Amtrak trains. The only setback is that Tri-Rail will not exactly get you where you need to go as it skirts metropolises in South Florida. That is because the Seaboard extension here runs 1-2 miles away from the urban cores. Yet, you could catch a ride or walk to the downtown areas if need be, so it is not too bad in the end. Another thing is that Tri-Rail is not a 24 hour service. It would be better to be able to take it at midnight - 2 AM but my personal safety may be compromised, and also people may not have a good enough demand for the system at that time. MDT does have accommodations for late night travel, however.

This video shows some of the highlights and sights of the trip. I am a big rail enthusiast but I do consider other modes of transportation as well, and future posts will show that going forward.