Thursday, April 09, 1998 (Washington, DC) TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY SLATER UNVEILS COMMUTER RAIL STATION AT MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

In conjunction with a six-state tour reviewing key transportation priorities, U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater today participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony highlighting the new Tri-Rail commuter railroad station at Miami International Airport (MIA).

The passenger railroad station, to be officially opened in late April, is the first component of the Miami Intermodal Center and will provide a central transfer point for regional passenger railroad trips; intercity bus, taxi and limousine service; and passenger vehicle operations.

"Transportation is the tie that binds, and the Tri-Rail commuter railroad station is an excellent example of how well-planned transportation facilities can improve the quality of life in a community," Secretary Slater said. "This station and the intermodal center will be important steps in helping meet Miami’s needs for efficient, safe and environmentally sound transportation."

During his six-state, five-day tour of southeastern states, Secretary Slater assessed key Clinton Administration transportation priorities and emphasized the need to maintain those priorities in the reauthorization of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act. In addition to Florida, he visited sites in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. The tour focused on integrated transportation systems that move goods and services more efficiently while growing local economies to help create jobs.

The Miami Intermodal Center (MIC) is a multifaceted transportation hub scheduled to be completed by 2008. The MIC, similar in concept to New York’s Grand Central Station and Washington, D.C.’s Union Station, will serve as a critical hub to connect different modes of transportation, thereby providing passenger with numerous transportation options. The MIA Tri-Rail station will provide improved access to the airport terminal and with the Miami-Dade Transit’s connecting bus shuttle, passengers will only have a four-minute ride from the terminal to the station.

In addition to the partnerships and connections among air, rail, bus, taxi, and passenger vehicle service, the MIC is an extension of Miami International Airport and is an example of the partnership between the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Florida Department of Transportation, Miami-Dade County and the Tri-County Commuter Rail Authority.

Of the $18 million total project cost for the station, the department’s Federal Transit Administration provided approximately $12.8 million for design, engineering and construction of the station and one mile of track leading from the last segment of Tri-Rail to the new station.

The MIA Tri-Rail station is the 19th station added to the Tri-Rail System, which, as the north-south spine of South Florida’s transportation network, serves 8,500 passengers daily or 2.5 million passengers per year. The MIA Tri-Rail station’s grand opening is scheduled for April 27, 1998.