MIAMI — Commuter operator Tri-Rail could run out of money within two years — earlier than previously anticipated — because of cuts in funding approved by the state legislature in June, according to the executive director of the service’s parent agency.
The Palm Beach Post reports David Dech, executive director of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, told the Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency that the Florida Department of Transportation will cut its annual contribution to Tri-Rail from $42.1 million to $15 million as of this month. As a result, the commuter operation — which had previously projected it would face a budget crisis in 2028 — it can only maintain operations in their current form for two years before it drains its available reserves, and it would not be able to follow through on planned equipment and station upgrades.
Dech said the transportation authority is talking with lawmakers and FDOT about restoring the contribution, but has also talked with the three counties served by Tri-Rail — Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade — about contributing $10 million each to cover that gap. Palm Beach County Commission Marci Woodward, a member of the planning agency, said the counties do not have that money: “We are being asked to pay for all of this, and we don’t own the line.” Woodward also said lawmakers were “not aware” of the consequences of their new budget.
The SFRTA is set to meet to discuss the funding issue on Friday, July 25, a meeting set for 8:30 a.m.
The 80-mile Tri-Rail system serves 19 stations and carried 4.4 million passengers in 2024.
The issue is the second for commuter rail in South Florida resulting from the state’s new budget. Earlier this month, the Miami Herald reported the budget cut $200 million in funding for the proposed Miami-Aventura commuter line [see “New Florida budget cuts funds …,” Trains News Wire, July 2, 2025].
I have never been in Florida (I’m the only person I know who has never been to Florida) but I can tell you this: Whatever fiscal problem commuter rail has in Florida, or SE Pennsylvania, or NE Illinois, is coming for you wherever you live.
My guess the next domino to fall will be MBTA commuter rail. Then Amtrak. The dollars just aren’t there. I’m not telling you what I want, but what is.
As this forum’s Number One Critic of CalHSR, the final nail was when I recently read (don’t recall if Trains Magazine On Line or Wall Street Journal) that the original projection for ridership (to sell the project to voters) was five times Amtrak NEC, or twice all of Amtrak. The biggest obstacle to passenger rail in this country is the advocates of passenger rail.
The rule of thumb in Florida is to supply the seed funding, get the service off the ground and then let it transition over to regional control and funding.
Under the Rick Scott Administration, it was found that Tri-Rail was still getting grants from FDOT, even though the time to transition them off of state money and into regional money had long since passed.
So FDOT notified them that the funding would end by 2028. But now with the recent budget passed, that funding end was moved up.
This shouldn’t be a shock to the regional leaders, the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority has been flagging this issue for several years, in fact it was brought up again when they needed money to allow Tri-Rail to switch over into Miami Central.
Look for a referendum from the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority to apply a revenue tax on some consumable in the region to keep the cash flow going.
Tallahassee wants NOTHING to do with commuter trains. The seven counties with commuter trains need to figure this out on their own.
SunRail is already prepared for this. It’s Tri-Rail that keeps trying to kick the can down the road. The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority seems to be afraid to take it to the voters.