MIAMI — The Federal Transit Administration has advanced the proposed commuter rail service between Miami and Aventura, Fla., into the engineering phase, and has made a preliminary commitment to provide $389.5 million in funding for the project, U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Miami) announced this week.
Wilson said in a press release that the FTA announcement “is a game-changer for Miami-Dade County and brings our community much closer to seeing the Northeast Corridor become a reality. … While more work lies ahead, today marks a large milestone in our efforts to construct the Northeast Corridor.”
The project would use the Florida East Coast Railway/Brightline right-of-way for a 13.5-mile commuter operation between the downtown MiamiCentral station and Aventura, with five intermediate stations. The total projected cost of $927.3 million would also include $337.9 million in funding from Miami-Date County and $200 million from the state of Florida; more details are available in this FTA document.
The funding will come from the Capital Investment Grants program. A final commitment for the federal funding will require a second review by the FTA on such factors as mobility improvements, land use, and environmental benefits, along with completion of the engineering work. Ultimately, funding will require approval of the Capital Investment Grants program as part of the congressional appropriations process.
Discussions on the project began in 2020, with a proposal that Brightline (then in its brief period as Virgin Trains) build the new stations and operate the service [see “Brightline negotiating to operate Miami-Aventura …” Trains News Wire, May 27, 2020].
