MIAMI — The executive director of commuter operator Tri-Rail has said he will resign in the wake of criticism over the agency’s handling of problems with the platform at Brightline’s MiamiCentral station, which is intended to also host Tri-Rail service.
Steven Abrams announced his intent to resign at a board meeting last week, then told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel he had a “great run” as director: “I erased a $16 million deficit, improved on-time performance, and we had the second biggest comeback of any commuter railroad in the country emerging from the pandemic.”
But he and others in Tri-Rail management came under fire after it emerged that the platform for Tri-Rail at MiamiCentral was too wide for its trains because of protruding steps on the commuter operators’ coaches [see “Tri-Rail service to Brightline’s Miami station faces clearance issues,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 13, 2021]. While Brightline and Tri-Rail blamed each other for the problem, board members of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, Tri-Rail’s parent body, were highly critical when it emerged that the operator had known of the problem in April but did not inform the board until December.
Abrams left his departure date open, saying he wanted to give the board the opportunity to begin the process of selecting a successor.
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