The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has announced a $164 million investment to advance the Broward Commuter Rail (BCR) South project in Florida. The commitment hinges on congressional approval through the Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program.
The project will help establish commuter rail service along a 10.5-mile stretch between Aventura in Miami-Dade County and Downtown Fort Lauderdale. Improvements covered will transform existing rail service on the Florida East Coast (FEC) Railway, providing new service to both end points as well as Hallandale Beach, Hollywood and the Dania Beach/Airport District.
Plans call for building three new stations to support rail service. Broward County Transit (BCT) – the authority overseeing project design and development – will also procure rail vehicles for deployment along the route. Additional work will cover track construction, parking costs and a portion of the Hialeah Vehicle Maintenance Facility.
Broward County officials recently moved the project into the engineering phase, paving the way for the next stage of preparation for construction. The BCT now has the authority to invest in engineering activities, demolition and utility relocation, property acquisition and other non-construction costs vital to project development.
The anticipated $164 million allocation covers more than half of the projected $291 million project cost. The BCR line will share tracks with other intercity commuter and freight rail trains and will have similar train frequencies to the Tri-Rail commuter service.
Broward County anticipates that BCR South service will add 54 to 58 trains per day. Ridership rates are estimated to increase from an average of 3,725 trips currently to 5,460 trips by 2045.
Photo by Dan Wright from Pexels
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