Transit Briefs: Tri-Rail, CTA, Amtrak Virginia

This year marks the seventh anniversary of the Pride Train, which is now in service along CTA's Red Line. (CTA photo)

Tri-Rail introduces new express train service. Also, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) announces “Refresh & Renew” work across the system and celebrates diversity and inclusiveness with the return of its Pride Train; and Amtrak Virginia rolls into summer with record ridership.

Tri-Rail

The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority (SFRTA) on May 31 announced the introduction of a new Tri-Rail express train service to start July 1, 2024. This addition, SFRTA says, “will offer passengers a seamless one-seat ride to and from Downtown Miami, significantly reducing travel time between the West Palm Beach and MiamiCentral stations.”

The express train will depart from the West Palm Beach Station at 6:30 a.m., with strategically limited stops at the Boca Raton Station, Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport Station at Dania Beach, and the Metrorail Transfer Station, before arriving at MiamiCentral Station at 8:05 a.m. In the evening, the return express train will depart MiamiCentral at 5:35 p.m., providing commuters with a convenient and expedited journey home.

“We are thrilled to unveil this new enhancement to our train service. By offering a one-seat ride and reducing travel time, we aim to provide an enhanced commuting experience for our passengers and attract new riders to Tri-Rail,” said SFRTA Executive Director Dave Dech.

The new express trains will be a one-seat ride, not requiring passengers to disembark to connect to shuttle trains that go in and out of MiamiCentral Station. The express train’s schedule also cuts the time to get between West Palm Beach and Miami by more than 30 minutes.

Tri-Rail says it remains committed to maintaining its current schedule, with 26 trains operating on weekdays and 23 trains on weekends for MiamiCentral, “ensuring continued connectivity” with Downtown Miami, with all non-express trains still transferring at the Metrorail Transfer Station.

Passengers traveling to and from Miami Airport Station, SFRTA says, will also benefit from a later departure time, accommodating increased airport traffic and catering to the needs of airport employees working late shifts.

Passengers are encouraged to stay updated on the latest developments by visiting Tri-Rail’s website and social media platforms, where copies of the revised schedule will be made available in the weeks leading up to the implementation date.

CTA

CTA on June 3 announced that its rail stations will receive repairs and improvements in summer 2024 as part of its ongoing, cyclical improvement program Refresh & Renew.

In 2024, crews will be performing an estimated $6.5 million in repairs and maintenance. Through Labor Day weekend, crews will focus on 14 rail stations across seven lines, as well as improvements at six bus turnarounds. The stations receiving improvements during the Refresh & Renew fall program will be announced at a later date. Refresh & Renew work will conclude in November.

The following CTA stations are slated to be refreshed and renewed this summer:

• Red Line: 87^th
• Blue Line: Oak Park, Western (Congress)
• Green Line: Clinton
• Brown Line: Southport, Paulina, Sedgwick
• Orange Line: Pulaski (Work on this station has already commenced and is slated to be completed in early June)
• Pink Line: Kostner, Cicero, Clinton, Kedzie
• Purple Line: Davis
• Loop Elevated: Clark/Lake (SOIC)
• Bus Turnarounds: Cicero/Penascola, Diversey/Neva, 87th/Racine, Grand/Streeter (Navy Pier), 47th/Lake Park

Created in 2019, the Refresh & Renew program, the agency says, helps keep CTA’s stations in a state of good repair by performing routine maintenance that “enhances the safety, security and overall look and feel of facilities.”

Prior to starting work at a location, crews perform an initial thorough inspection of the location to identify any items that need repair and/or replacement—either immediately or in the near term.

Some of the more comprehensive improvements made as part of this program include concrete repairs, removal of outdated fixtures and equipment, repairs to utility and plumbing lines and more. Work also includes smaller cosmetic upgrades such as painting and replacing sheet metal or damaged signage, lighting upgrades, cleaning, and repair of surfaces (e.g., columns, walls, railings, fencing/gates, platform fixtures, etc.) and power washing are also performed.  

CTA will also be launching seasonal power washing teams to complement Refresh & Renew and attack grime that collected over the winter. This separate group of personnel will be dispatched during the overnight hours and tasked with scrubbing and power washing the surfaces of CTA’s stations. During the warmer months of spring and fall, each of CTA’s 145 rail stations is power washed at least once a month as part of routine station cleaning.

“Already this year, work at more than a dozen rail stations across the system has been completed as part of the spring session of Refresh & Renew,” said CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. “Our crews worked at an aggressive pace to make improvements across the system, and I’m looking forward to the launching of our summer cleaning and seeing that progress continue.”

Separately, on June 3, CTA announced the return of the Pride Train, an eight-car train wrapped in the colors of a rainbow in celebration of “the dynamism and continuing evolution of the LGBTQ community locally and nationally.” This year marks the seventh anniversary of the Pride Train, which is now in service along the Red Line.

Complementing the Pride Train, CTA and Ventra have also re-launched the Pride Signature Ventra Card, which draws inspiration from the agency’s colorful rail lines converging the Loop. The card is now available for purchase here.

“No matter where you live in Chicago or how you identify, you can live freely and proudly in the city of Chicago where we champion the LGBTQ community,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson. “The Pride Train is a reminder to residents and visitors that Chicago is a beacon for freedom, hope, and love—and most importantly, all are welcome and celebrated here. As we celebrate Pride events throughout the month, I encourage everyone to use the CTA and continue doing their part to make Chicago a more inclusive place for everyone.”

“This tradition is a point of pride for our agency and is a celebration of the community that we serve,” said Carter. “Our hope is that the annual Pride Train welcomes both new riders to the system and reinforces the feeling of safety and inclusion we want all our riders to feel.”

This year’s train features a new design, which will cover the entirety of the train. The 2024 design is an evolution of the previous year’s line-art, using bands of color like the transit map lines, but with a curved and inverting rainbow pattern forming shapes. The design continues to embrace not only the classic Pride Flag colors, but also includes colors to represent LGBTQ people of color with the black and brown stripes and trans color trio.

The CTA became the first major U.S. transit agency to unveil a Pride Train when it introduced the concept to Chicago in 2017.

Amtrak Virginia

The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA) announced May 31 that its state-supported passenger rail service, Amtrak Virginia, saw another month of record ridership in April.

With a total of 118,474 passengers traveling, April 2024 ridership surpassed April 2023 by 9.8%. All four Amtrak Virginia corridors saw ridership increases resulting in the highest ridership for the month of April since the Commonwealth started state-supported service in 2009. The Norfolk corridor again carried the most passengers with 44,616 traveling.

“For 11 of the past 12 months, our Amtrak Virginia service has set a monthly record,” said VPRA Executive Director DJ Stadtler. “VPRA was created because the General Assembly saw a need to provide more passenger rail options for travelers, and with these numbers, it’s clear they were right. We look forward to seeing more Virginians on board this summer.”

Only the month of December 2023 did not set a record for monthly ridership over the past twelve months, according to VPRA. At 110,352, it fell just short of the record of 111,082 set in December 2022. The month of August 2023 holds the all-time record for monthly ridership at 130,998.

VPRA manages the state’s Amtrak Virginia service, which includes eight daily roundtrips along four corridors. Service travels through the Commonwealth from Roanoke, Norfolk, Newport News, and Richmond to Washington, DC, and points north, including Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City and Boston.

In addition to the Amtrak Virginia service, VPRA also has the lead on the state’s Transforming Rail in Virginia (TRV) initiative. This “forward-looking” plan is designed to give Virginians an alternative to driving along congested highways and interstates—to provide some relief from what has become Virginia’s “all day rush hour.” The initiative calls for moving Virginians by using an existing rail corridor and building new infrastructure, eventually separating freight and passenger rail services. When complete, Amtrak Virginia will offer a total of 13 daily roundtrips traveling throughout the state and connecting to the Northeast Corridor.