FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Broward County Commission on Thursday approved $15.5 million to study and develop a proposed commuter rail line between Fort Lauderdale and Aventura, Fla., along the Florida East Coast Railway/Brightline route.
The South Florida Sun Sentinel reports the proposal known as the Broward Commuter Rail Link would provide a connection with the commuter service being planned by Miami-Dade County between Aventura and Brightline’s downtown MiamiCentral station.
The Broward proposal would develop service between Aventura and a point south of the New River in central Fort Lauderdale while state and local officials decide whether to build a bridge or tunnel for trains to cross the New River.
The vote by commissioners directed the county to pursue federal funding for the project. The Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization will discuss grant proposals for the project at a Sept. 8 meeting.
Miami-Dade County, which is working with Brightline on its project, began pursuing federal grants for the estimated $375 million, 13.5-mile Miami-Aventura commuter service in 2021 [see “Digest: Miami-Dade seeks federal funding …,” Trains News Wire, April 7, 2021]. Surveying for the project began earlier this year.
This would be a single operator line that would serve Broward County with its focal point being downtown Fort Lauderdale.
Since Brightline has no plans for local stops like a transit line would, these 2 counties are setting up a parallel service that would provide local coverage.
This would be somewhat similar to having a CTA transit route parallel a Metra route in Chicago. Metra doesn’t make all stops and doesn’t stop at all minor points along its route. But the CTA does.
If someone in Broward who lives south of the Brightline station in Fort Lauderdale still wanted to reach Miami Central, they could by using this new line.
Broward is looking at aligning their funding with Miami-Dade.
So the way I’m reading this, there would be one commuter rail operator from Miami to Aventura, and then a second one from Aventura to Fort Lauderdale. That doesn’t seem like a very long route, is there a reason they’re not going with just one operation? Or am I reading it wrong?