Miami station (Amtrak)

Miami, FL
Miami station in October 2017
General information
Location	8303 NW 37th Avenue Miami, Florida United States
Coordinates	25°50′59″N 80°15′29″W
Owned by	Amtrak
Platforms	2 island platforms
Tracks	3
Connections	Metrobus: 42, 112
Construction
Parking	Yes
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	Amtrak: MIA
History
Opened	June 20, 1978
Passengers
FY 2023	73,883 (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Terminus Floridian Hollywood toward Chicago Silver Meteor Hollywood toward New York
Former services Preceding station Amtrak Following station Terminus Palmetto 2002–2004 Hollywood toward New York Silver Palm 1996–2002 Silver Star Hollywood toward Los Angeles Sunset Limited 1993–1996 Terminus Terminus Silver Palm 1982–1985 Hollywood toward Tampa Floridian 1978–1979 Hollywood toward Chicago
Location

Miami station is a train station in Miami-Dade County, Florida, on the border of Miami and Hialeah. It is the southern terminus for Amtrak's Floridian and Silver Meteor trains. The station opened in 1978 to replace a 48-year-old Seaboard Air Line Railroad station. It is several blocks away from the Tri-Rail and Metrorail Transfer Station, but there is no direct connection between the two. The station was meant to be replaced in the mid-2010s by the Miami Intermodal Center next to the airport just to the south, but the platforms were too short (they can accommodate 10-car trains but not 12-car trains that are used in the winter). Negotiations are ongoing between Amtrak and FDOT.

History

An Amtrak train at the ex-Seaboard Air Line Railroad station in 1972

The Silver Meteor departs on June 20, 1978 – the first train to use the new station

When Amtrak took over intercity passenger service in May 1971, it continued to use the former Seaboard Air Line Railroad (SAL) depot at 2210 NW 7th Avenue in Allapattah, two miles north of downtown. The SAL station, built in 1930, soon began to show its age. On May 13, 1977, Amtrak began construction of a new station near the SAL's Hialeah Yards.

Opened on June 20, 1978, the building is one of many built under Amtrak's Standard Stations Program, an attempt to create a unified brand and identity for the company's passenger facilities in its early years. It is considered a Type 300A station, meaning it was designed to accommodate at least 300 passengers at the busiest hour of the day. It is nearly identical to the now closed Midway station in Saint Paul, Minnesota, which was also built in 1978.

The building measures 85 feet (26 m) by 175 feet (53 m) with 20,000 square feet (1,900 m²) of floor space, with a large waiting room and other passenger facilities on the ground floor. A mezzanine houses a lounge and Amtrak regional offices. The $5.7 million station construction project ($26.6 million adjusted for inflation) included the fully handicapped accessible station, a 269-car parking lot, and two 2,000 foot (610 m)-long platforms to handle Amtrak's lengthy Florida trains. A loop track runs around the station complex, allowing trains to be turned around for their northbound trips. The last trains arrived at the ex-SAL station on June 19, 1978; the northbound Silver Meteor departed from the new station on June 20 shortly before the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

In the early 1990s, the Florida Department of Transportation began planning an intermodal station to link Tri-Rail, Amtrak, and Metrorail to the Miami International Airport. These plans were completed as the Miami Intermodal Center, located 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the current station and an equal distance west of downtown. Metrorail opened to the station in 2012, Tri-Rail commuter trains began serving the new platforms in April 2015, and Amtrak was originally expected to serve this station in 2016, but an error during design resulted in the constructed platforms too short to accommodate the longer trains Amtrak uses during the winter. The original design would have resulted in grade crossings being blocked by the last cars of these longer trains. After changes to traffic patterns around the station, Amtrak was initially expected to move to Miami Airport Station in late 2018. By late 2018, the move had been postponed indefinitely.

In 2021, Amtrak reached out to FDOT to begin negotiations again for utilization of the Miami Intermodal Center. Test train operations began in February 2022 with negotiations continuing.

Station layout

The station has three tracks with two low-level platforms. The station building is located south of Track 1 and directly adjacent to the eastern platform.

External links

• Miami, FL – Amtrak
• Miami, FL – Station history at Great American Stations (Amtrak)
• USA Rail Guide - Miami
• Miami station on Google Maps Street View