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].
