Tri- Rail Hialeah/Miami Airport Station

Bus riders beware. I live in DC where the same pass is good on the train or bus. Not in Miami! At the airport I bought a day pass to take the bus to the beach and back to the airport. Then I walked down the stairs and there were other machines… for the bus. I had to buy bus tickets there. Now I have a $ 7 train ticket I will never use. The machine where I bought the ticket was pretty much right near the busses… just up a set of steps from the bus. This was at the airport with lots of tourists… the failure to clearly placard the machines constitutes a scam to me. I will post when I get back to the airport if they will give me a refund. I’m just going to the beach for a few hours.

The actual miami airport station is better

Inexpensive mode of transportation to get from Miami Airport to Fort Lauderdale Airport.
It reminded me of BART, although the Tri-​Rail is a slower. It is relatively clean and seats are sufficiently comfortable. Not many people used it while we were there… maybe public transportation isn’t as popular in Miami?

BEWARE THE 238 ROUTE TO/​FROM MIAMI AIRPORT!!! I waited 2 hours for a bus today. The driver said they are short staffed on this route…

The lady at the ticket counter had no customer service skills, and did not speak english well enough to understand common phrases. She was very rude. This is a great service. I found it to be easy to navigate and inexpensive. They do have a new mobile app. The taxi ride to the metro rail station was the worst part. Second was the free little bus ride from the Ft. Lauderdale Airport station to the airport. Kind of a hassle, and theres no clear directions. But 3.75 plus cab fare to airport was about half of a taxi or shuttle to the airport

If you enjoy the graffiti art during Wynwood Art Walk, you’re missing out if you don’t take Tri Rail at least once when commuting between Miami and Palm Beach. Running roughly parallel to I-​95, you get to see graffiti running the gamut from scribbles to elaborate pieces full of colors and depth. You also pass behind and see the industrial underbelly of the Tri-​county area: factories and sometimes the ghost of abandoned ones. I’m talking silos, generators, duct runs, retention ponds, plus whatever else is in the yard. Various abandoned concrete pads are sitting there for your view. Thus, from an artistic /​history geek /​urban explorer /​sightseeing point of view, Tri Rail would get five stars.
Where it loses some is in the practical realm. If you’re taking a train on the weekends, the wait between trains is two hours — if there are no delays. Calling the customer service number after 4 weekends to know the status is a no-​go because they’re closed. As far as I know, they don’t have an app that could communicate this info especially when the message boards at the station aren’t working. Some of the stations are unmanned, which could be a safety and customer service issue. Architecturally, the stations aren’t Grand Central nor a showcase of Brutalist Architectue. Other than the faux Moorish style of the Opa Locka station, most are for all intents and purposes a shed (column and truss roof.)

I would give it a 5 if the stations had bathrooms… oh well.
Still a great, quick, easy and inexpensive way to get around Fort Lauderdale and Miami. Northbound trains even go to West Palm Beach. They go to both airports; Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
We left from Sheridan Station, transferred to the transfer rail and then headed to downtown Miami. We ended up spending 20 because we chose the wrong tickets the first time.
Some nice guy helped us purchase an all day weekend pass which was only $ 5×2 which was what we needed in the first place.
Ticket booths take cash or credit cards.
Only nightmare was the herd of people waiting to get tickets to transfer to dt Miami which took forever with only two machines.
We weren’t the only ones who didn’t read directions. Oh well.
Defintely recommend taking the tri rail if you have the time.

Tri Rail is a freaking disaster! You wouldn’t believe that this train system is operated in a first world country. No week passes where you wouldn’t have to expect multiple train cancellations and extreme delays, especially during rush hours. I am not exaggerating. It is very frustrating trying to be «greener» and taking advantage of the public transportation system, but time-​wise I can’t afford taking this train any longer. What a shame!!! I am just astonished that they can get airplanes in the air to the minute, but not get a two train track train system run smoothly… it is the most frustrating and unbelievable thing to me!

Gotta admit Tri-​Rail, I dig your new ticket kiosks. It didn’t take me that long to figure out how to use it, but thank goodness a friendly commuter helped me out. I have the card. I wasn’t exactly thrilled to have to take time out of my day to go to the office and have my photo taken, that seems so old fashioned. But the folks at the office were sweet enough.
I kind of feel for the newbie user who has never rode the train before when they first use these kiosks. They’re not exactly intuitive for the short day-​tripper.
If you’re a new rider, please get there early so you can figure out that kiosk and maybe ask someone how to use it. You need a ticket because if the security guys don’t recognize you, they’ll ask you for it.

Very helpful information in these posts but none tell me how long it takes to get from Virgin America Terminal at FLL to Tri-​Rail train station for trip north. Is 30 minutes or less, likely? Should I allow an hour?

Affordable, and easy to ride. There’s tables inside, two floors to pick from. And usually plenty of seating. It’s also relatively quick — the stops at the stations are not too long. Easy way to travel between South Florida counties.

Just like Paul, we have taken the Tri Rail from Miami to the Ft Lauderdale airport, it is easy, comfortable, convenient and inexpensive.
Word of advise, check the schedule before you go, just to know how long your wait will be, especially if you are catching a flight.
Only drawback is that there is no overnight parking at any of the train station parking lots so you have to figure out a way to get to the station, maybe a cab. Still it is cheaper than paying for parking for a few days and it sure as hell beats driving.

This review is based on one experience, and one experience only: getting from Ft. Lauderdale airport to the Miami airport.
It costs less than $ 4 dollars and takes about 45 minutes… SCORE!
The train reminds me of Chicago’s Metra. Clean, cheap and on time.
Why pay $ 75 in cab fare when you can do it for $ 3 and some change? Really, it’s an amazing deal. Hooray!

This review is #3 of 3 covering my trek from Miami to Ft. Lauderdale Airport using public transportation. On this trip, I took Metrobus to Metrorail, then Metrorail to Tri-​Rail station, and then the Tri-​Rail shuttle to the airport.
The Tri-​rail transfer station looks relatively new and everything was clean and in good condition. Though their website (
) had accurate train schedules posted, the fares they had listed on their site were incorrect and should be updated; The actual fare was nearly double what was posted on the site. Once you get to the station you can either go to the window to purchase tickets from an attendant, or use one of their automated kiosks where you simply press the button for your final destination and the type of fare you want to purchase, feed in your $$ and voila!
One thing to remember if traveling on the weekend is that trains only run every 2 hours on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. The trains are 2 floors tall and have racks inside to stow luggage, and a place to tie off your bicycle as well. The train was very full on the Saturday I was traveling. Though you don’t need to show tickets when entering the train, there is an officer who comes around periodically to check and make sure everyone has a ticket and he does have his clipboard with him in case he finds someone who doesn’t have proof of a paid fare.
Once we reached the Ft. Lauderdale station, there was a shuttle bus there waiting to take us to the airport. Personally I wouldn’t waste any time after getting off the train, because as soon as everyone visible had boarded the shuttle, they closed the door and whisked us off to the airport. The next one ran 50 minutes later, so don’t dally around and miss it.

The Tri-​Rail is a great tool and super cheap.
You can go one length of the rail — Miami (airport) to Mangonia Park (just north of West Palm Beach airport) for $ 5.50. It goes by THREE airports!
My complaint is that getting to the stations wasn’t easy. Airport transport to the stations by bus was not easy to find nor follow. Most of the stations are new and nice but some are very beat up and not in the greatest areas.

We needed a way to get from Miami airport (MIA) to Ft. Lauderdale airport (FLL). Tri-​rail was the solution. They offer a free shuttle from the Miami airport to the train station. The ride was $ 3.00. It is public transportation so keep your luggage close by.
The weekend and holiday schedule is only every two hours so if you are using this as transport between MIA and FLL leave plenty of time to account for this. Also, the shuttle at FLL seems a little less reliable than at MIA.

Tri-​Rail bailed me out in a big way. I was staying in downtown Miami and flying out of Fort Lauderdale first thing in the morning. I couldn’t get a shared-​ride shuttle, and a cab would have cost at least $ 80. I took the Tri-​Rail instead.
At the Miami Airport station, buying a ticket was a snap (there was an attendant even at 5 AM). The ride was comfortable enough, and most important, the train was on time. At the FLL station, a Tri-​Rail shuttle waited to whisk me away to my terminal.
Altogether, my journey took a little more than an hour and cost $ 3. Who can argue?

I’d recommend giving it a try, but check the schedules, give yourself plenty of time, and carry a cab number.
On the way in to town, it was easy and pleasant. On the way out, the transfer from Metrorail was an insane sprint, the shuttle from the Tri-​Rail station to the airport was late, and then the shuttle driver WOULD NOT LEAVE THE STATION TO TAKE US TO THE AIRPORT UNTIL THE NEXT TRI-​RAIL ARRIVED.
Four desperate travellers abandoned all hope and split a $ 10 cab from the Ft. Lauderdale Tri-​Rail airport station to the airport. So it was still quite a deal.
On the plus side, the double-​decker bus thing is kind of awesome, and there is room for your bicycle.

the tri-​rail works! few things you need to consider about going to the airport via tri-​rail. get there early. check the schedule. i had a 5pm flight about a week ago. so i left my place (downtown miami) by 2pm and i got to the airport at 4pm. tickets are 3 $ (one way from metro-​rail transfer — to FLL) — coming back worked out perfect too. i flew in from san francisco at 7:30am. i waited for the shuttle (look for the sign outside in departures) for about 15 minutes and then jumped in the tri-​rail going south for 3 $ (one way and already works to transfer to the metro rail for free) i was sitting on my desk at 10am. so … it works, it sure is slower than taking a cab, but its way cheaper. use it in combo with the metro rail and get to miami for cheap! fly into/​out of fort lauderdale. its cheaper too…

Tri-​Rail gets you from Broward to Miami-​Dade just don’t get jacked. Make sure to keep your street smarts, I’ve seen a woman get robbed in mid-​day at a platform station (cop nearby too).
Do some surveillance to make sure you park your car at the right Tri-​Rail station. My step-​dad has a beater car and parks it at Cypress Creek station which has been known to have cars scratched/​jacked/​etc.
Otherwise, its a great way to get from county-​to-​county if you work in its network and with gas prices going up…
My family used to use it to go from Fort Lauderdale to Bayside Mall or from Fort Lauderdale to the MIA airport. It can be done, just plan ahead if you have the time and patience.