Tri Rail: best way from MIA to FLL? Yes. And no. 

Michael MacEachern Although, it sort of is. From my experience, you could drive from downtown Ft. Lauderdale to the airport, so alternatively you *could* take a form of transportation to the Brightline station, then go to Fort Lauderdale on it, and then take Uber or other to the airport.

Exactly. You will end up paying more for a longer ride.

Very needed info on the Brightline vs Tri Rail, TY

hmmm not really… first, Brightline’s purpose is to link DOWNTOWN areas that are not run-down urban deserts (i.e. 90% of Tri-Rail’s chain-link, open-air, unsafe, concrete pieces of crap), and already immediately interconnected to existing mass transit options and WALKABLE destinations. These are important considerations and why commuter trains work elsewhere but almost nowhere within US… Second, you can connect within 2 mins to a Metro Orange line and be at MIA in about 15 mins max, and better connected to MIA Terminals on Metro than Tri-Rail which is [obviously] weirdly-located adjacent to the MIA Intermodal Hub. I know cuz I live 2 blocks from Brightline & Govt Center, and also a MetroMover stop at my building. AA Arena (or whatever it’s stupid new name is) games & concerts, Cruise Port, Hotels, Downtown business, Dining, Shopping, Museums, Opera, Ballet, boat Marinas, Brickell, Wynwood, Miami Beach, Ultra, Art Basel, etc etc are WAY better served by Brightline, many of these by foot or quick&easy transfer to MetroMover/Metro/Trolley, and with far superior service & flexibility as an event partner. The idiots at Tri-Rail couldn’t even dream of ever evolving into the sort of cogent beings that are behind Brightline, which is actually a revolution for USA. They built several enormous apartment/condo towers on top of the beautiful Miami station, with pools and gyms and restaurants etc There have been 50-60 new condo-apt high rises built nearby - it’s an entire urban concept and way of life that cannot ever enter into the imaginations of the morons at Tri-Rail who literally are still sitting on their neanderthal asses unable to certify their crappy trains to run a few miles from MIA to Downtown Miami. Pathetic. Tri-Rail’s service into & out of MIA is weird and spotty, and after decades of existence will **finally** piggy-back on Brightline’s initiative and gorgeous, world-class station in downtown Miami - if Tri-Rail ever gets its act together to accomplish this amazing feat of properly serving the largest city in Florida by completing this simple task of running a few miles further into downtown🙄🙄 also, Tri-Rail’s service at night and during weekends is pathetic to be considered a mass-transit service (stops like 9:30pm WTF??!! LOLOLOL) I grew up riding public transportation in Chile, Argentina, Venezuela and also lived in VA/DC for a time & took metro into work at US Senate every day. As a teen in Buenos Aires I could walk north 3 blocks to the train, a few more to a major bus artery, or leave my house south 3 blocks to a diff major bus artery, all which were interconnected to other bus/train lines & subways to take me easily & cheaply anywhere within the massive metro area of 15 million people. I’ve also used extensive public transport across Europe (+ Japan & Korea). I’ve used lots of different NY-NJ-CT trains & subways, some Utah Trax light rail, Atlanta’s MARTA, Baltimore-BIA, etc other decent examples (for USA). Therefore I can assert categorically that Tri-Rail is half-assed and pathetic and shouldn’t consider itself safe from all the scorn it rightfully receives. Sure, at LEAST we have this third-tier option in South Florida that is actually of some use to some people, but puhleeeeezzz Tri-Rail should never be defended or given accolades of any kind

@@ericpallred Well said, public transit in SoFlo is putting it lightly, turboshit. Brightline is of course great and its expansions especially into Boca and Aventura are great steps. But, cumulatively public transit frequency in South Florida is horrible and the routes typically end in vacant strip malls or large mall areas. Hardly convenient. Poorly maintained.

I completely agree! This was hands-down one of the best travel deals I’ve come across in the past few years. 👌🏻

They must have heard you talking so much about how cheap the trip is. They just went up in price effective in January 2020. The new price is $4.75. Still somewhat a deal but not as much of a deal as $3.75.

You won't get any ocean views driving up I-95, either. And you'll risk your life given how insane drivers can be in FL. Just sayin'...

@@violetsabe2913 yes yes

Clearly this dude doesn’t use transit, he didn’t even recognize a ticket machine lol

😂😂😂😂😂😂 same thing I thought .

It just amazes me that I’ve never heard about this train before considering how often I fly in and out of south Florida. We desperately need something like this in Southern California! Yeah, the Pacific Surfliner comes close, but it’s inconvenient for airport access. 🙁

Same

Thanks John! Yeah, it thought it was pretty weird how empty it was - it’s probably much busier other times of the day, so I just got lucky I guess.

I agree - I actually thought it was an error at first! 😮

Oooohh an NGR pic in an American Travel video. We can only dream of those prices from Wynnum to Cleveland lol

It is $17 round trip Mia- west palm beach

Did you watch the entire thing? At the end of the video I did mention that the Brightline trains don’t offer airport to airport service. 👍🏻

Interesting - I had no idea! I really wish we had a better train/transit system here in Southern California. Florida seems to be leading the way!

Glad it was a good experience! I can’t believe I had never heard of this train before this trip - everyone who rides it says really good things. 👍🏻👍🏻

Thanks for the encouragement! I’m definitely interested in creating other types of travel content (other than just airline stuff), so it’s good to know that there is some interest for that sort of thing. 👍🏻

Thanks! I’m not much of a train guy but I know there are a lot of people out there who are into this kind of stuff. 😎👍🏻

I love trains I'm from Massachusetts and we have the mbta

Thanks! I have no idea what I’m doing when it comes to train videos, but it’s fun to try. 😆

@@sanspotter Haha you should review the UP Express train here in Toronto next time you're in town haha.

Yeah, I should have been more clear about these two trains not being direct competitors of one another. Technically they both connect these cities very well, but not in the same way. I can’t wait to try the Brightline train someday!

@@sanspotter Brightline can get pretty pricey, recommend looking for some deals... ;).

All stations are not in the 'hood'. There is only one 'hood' station and that is Opa-Locka. But Hialeah station is in a commercial area and the Golden Glades station is in an industrial area at a park and ride lot.

You’re very welcome! I was actually watching a few of your videos before I edited this just to see what I needed to include in a proper train review. 😅 Thanks for the inspiration! 👍🏻

I wish I would have known about this train earlier - I definitely could have taken advantage of the ride between PBI and MIA several times in the past!

No the closest station is either lake worth or west palm amtrak

Thanks for the correction. I think there is a shuttle that connects West Palm Beach and PBI though.

@@sb06phl59 yes correct

You’re welcome! I didn’t know either before this trip. The Tri Rail is highly underrated IMHO!

Thanks! It’s amazing to realize how many people subscribed to my channel love trains just as much as airplanes. Much more than I thought!

Same, look at my channel's name.

That’s the way to do it. 👍🏻 I’ll be riding the Tri Rail in the future as much as I can as well.

Thanks! Unfortunately, nope - but I do want to give it a try next time I’m in south Florida.

@@sanspotter Thanks Scott. I would like to ride the speed train however, I haven't seen the pros and cons of it on youtube yet and Thank you.

Haha! “Wildebeest sweeping majestically across the plains” was definitely NOT included as part of this train ride. I sure as heck wish it was though. 😂👍🏻 Oh, and yes - the bus transfer to the FLL terminals was included. 👍🏻

Thanks David! 😄👍🏻

No, it does not. The northern terminus of Tri-Rail is Mangonia Park, just north of West Palm Beach.

Thanks so much! Yeah, I feel completely out of my element on trains but somehow I managed. 😆 Glad you enjoyed this unusual video from me!

Thanks so much! 😎👍🏻

scott is unique….difficult to find another personality like his on the web......

For as much time as I’ve spent in south Florida over the years, I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of the Tri Rail before this trip. I’m gonna ride it every time as well! Well, whenever I need to transfer between MIA and FLL that is. 😆

@@sanspotter My sister and I have used Tri-Rail for cruises, too, and we LOVE it, especially the price. The cruise lines will charge a hefty premium to go the same distance on one of their shuttle buses, and even Uber and Lyft can't compete with the price! I do have one question though: are the shuttle bus rides between the FLL airport station and the FLL airport complementary, or is there a toll?

The bus is free for Tri Rail customers (I assume they may ask to see your Tri Rail ticket).

Yea those bombardier coaster cars are common in NA. The trains that go by my house use an interesting but outdated 50s bi level design with old engines (but rebuilt).

They're called Bombardier BiLevel Coaches. They are also used on Caltrain, Metrolink, and Frontrunner among others.

In all my years of making videos, he was the first guy who put his hands up to cover his face as I was filming. Guess he’s probably seen my videos and wanted no part in that nonsense. 😅

So that was you who liked it just seconds after I uploaded it? 🧐😄👍🏻

You’re exactly right Claus! Sometimes cheap beer is better than champagne I guess. 😆 BTW - just booked a night at the TWA hotel at JFK, and I’ll be doing a full video of the experience. It won’t be until late September or October though, but...I know you might be interested in that. 😎👍🏻

You know I have been there...It was just like coming home!!!!@@sanspotter

Hi. I had some luggage with me, and there are signs saying you can't take it up to the upper levels. There are racks on the lower deck. I rode there to keep an eye on it, and when it was quiet I just kept it by my seat.

Wow! Uber must be insanely expensive between MIA and FLL!

SANspotter If $42 is expensive to you, then yes. but i would much rather pay $3.75.

@@erickdelko9523 Where you unaware that Miami/South Florida has public transportation?

@@xoxxobob61 At least I am, but the buses to me are hot garbage

Train videos? On an airplane? Now that’s how to do it. 🤟🏻😎

Where are you flying?

jr132 SFO-ORD

I guess it’s a good thing that nobody was sitting next to me, because I wouldn’t have been able to resist tapping them on the shoulder and telling them my thoughts on Florida bird poop. 🦅💩😂

@@sanspotter LOL..ur crazyyy

Next time I will!

Good point - and for the price I paid, I didn’t mind the lack of scenery all that much.

SANspotter How long did the bus transfer between the FLL station and your terminal take?

It was about 10 minutes - a lot longer than I thought it would be (but still not bad). The train station is kind of far from the airport!

I definitely need to do more train reviews - it’s a nice break from doing airline stuff all the time. 👍🏻

Metrorail from MIA Airport to Government station (and that can be a tad sketchy more than tri rail itself)

Haha, I actually had to look up “boujee” because I had no idea what it means. 👨🏼‍💻😂 But you’re absolutely right - the Tri Rail is the better option for airport to airport transfers! I gotta try those Brightline/Virgin trains though... 🧐

That’s pretty cool actually - I’m sure it’s a lot less stressful than sitting in traffic on the freeway. 👍🏻

what school do u go to ?

@@holasoyalejandro9822 Dreyfoos School of the Arts/DSOA

Actually no! Nobody ever checked, and I was wondering if I just got “lucky” or something.

Adam Diaz yes they do. I used to take it on a daily basis. Some days they wouldn’t check. But other days they would. It’s a 50/50 chance they’ll check.

Thank you!!

It's a crapshoot... depends on how long you are on the train but they are checked occasionally. There have been many trips where I've travelled from West Palm Beach to north Fort Lauderdale and there hasn't been a check. But it's better to be honest and just pay the fare and help keep it inexpensive for everyone.

They mainly check during the rush hour times. If you don't have a ticket everyone in that car would know because the security isn't quiet about it. It is quite embarrassing. They ask for your id and then write you either a warning or a citation depending on how they feel. In rare instances they remove you from the train as well depending on if you are a repeat violator. The citation is $50 and you have to pay it to the court. If you do not pay it, it turns into a criminal offense called 'fare evasion' (misdemeanor) which carries a penalty of a fine of up to $500 and a maximum of 60 days in jail.

Thankfully he didn’t start picking his nose until just before stepping out of frame. 😅

SANspotter lolol no way

Tri-Rail runs on a freight line so the "Scenery" isn't the best.

The Bright Line trains are brand new. As far as Tri-rail is concerned it is pretty clean and the sits are comfortable but they don't have a drink cart coming around. But to pay almost 4 times more on Bright Line so as to have access to a beverage cart ain't worth it to me.

Agreed. One of the best travel bargains out there IMHO! 😎

And about 10 times the price, and Uber transfer

I couldn’t resist. 😆 I will be trying the Brightline/Virgin train next time though!

SANspotter ok I like em too but you got the older style cars which I think are better

Heck, now that I think of it...am I really sure I didn’t purchase a senior citizen ticket? 🤔 It was crazy cheap!

Senior ticket 62 and over was $2.50 for that same trip. Now it is $3.50.

it has 3 stations...and if you even take a peak at the brightline offers page you get tons of discounts. for example, code BLFRIEND gives you a free ticket with the purchase of a ticket. Also, when booking proper times, you can get a brightline ticker for about 10 to 15 dollars, even between miami and westpalm

Bright Line is not a commuter a train. It is a long distance train that just happens to be between only 3 counties right now.Furthermore Bright Line is privately own and has to pay its bills from the fares it receives. Tri-rail is subsidized by us taxpayers.

Haha! 😂 iguana poop is the real deal lol

Right. 8 second version for those that don't want to wait 8 minutes through all the quirks: It's cheap ($3.75), air conditioned, and you'll have to get on a bus at FLL airport to the terminals. They may or may not check your ticket. Voila!