MIAMI — Development of commuter rail between downtown Miami and Aventura on the route owned by Florida East Coast Railway and served by Brightline is set to receive increased priority, and has a new higher price tag.
Miami Today reports the Miami-Dade Transportation Planning Organization, which oversees county transportation development, will vote this week to upgrade the priority of the proposed 14.5-mile, seven-station rail line. Documents regarding the plans do not set a timeline for the service, but say the cost is now estimated at $588.7 million, up from a 2021 estimate of $345 million, while a county website lists capital costs as $682 million, not including track and right-of-way access fees. The $588.7 figure would include $197.7 million from local sources; $103.5 from the state; and $288.4 from the federal government. (Totals may not add up because of rounding.)
In addition to serving the MiamiCentral and Aventura stations, the service would have stops in Wynwood, the Design District, Little Haiti, North Miami, and Florida International University/Biscayne Boulevard. Planning to determine exact station locations is underway and involves the planning organization, county officials, the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, and the Florida Department of Transportation. The capital costs include building the new stations, as well as infrastructure changes to allow the commuter service to operate along with Brightline in the Miami-Aventura corridor.
Also undetermined is who will operate the system. The county has held negotiations with Brightline but officials were told agreements should not be reached until the project is in the development phase of the federal New Starts Program for funding. Brightline, in a 2019 memo to investors, said it might create a subsidiary to run the service and brand it differently.
Over $54M per mile, probably much higher with inflation, especially since the district has no timetable.