MIAMI – The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority (SFRTA) has approved a new look for Tri-Rail trains, changing the “blue skies, white clouds and palm trees” design for the first time since its unveiling on Tri-Rail trains in 2001.
“I am excited to announce that Tri-Rail trains will be refreshed with a new design that will modernize and bring new life to the trains,” Commissioner Raquel Regalado, SFRTA Governing Board chairwoman said in a news release. “We as a board felt collectively that this was the perfect time to revitalize Tri-Rail’s look with a fresh new wrap as we embark upon a new era with the system.”
The idea of changing Tri-Rail’s train design was presented at the SFRTA’s February 2023 board meeting. The agency was planning work to re-wrap the exterior of 12 locomotives and 49 passenger cars that were due for replacement. With the impending expansion of service into Miami’s downtown MiamiCentral Station (currently planned for this fall) and several new efforts to improve the train service, the board felt it was an opportunity to give Tri-Rail trains a fresh new design, and requested SFRTA’s executive director to present design options for their review.
Twelve of the system’s locomotives are undergoing an overhaul program to have new engines installed in the next two years, while passenger cars are going through a refresh project that includes restroom rehabilitation, seat repairs and floor replacement.
“The design was chosen to make it easy to overlay advertising opportunities that can help garner additional revenue for the agency,” says Regalado.
When service began in 1989, the agency had purchased cars from Canada’s GO Transit, and simply kept the Canadian transit agency’s green-and-white colors. It wasn’t until 2001 that the tropical design was unveiled to identify the system with its own brand.
The new ‘On Track’ design incorporates Tri-Rail’s logo colors, and was created by SFRTA’s agency of record, Goodman Public Relations, with members of the team that helped create the ‘blue skies’ design.
