Surprise: air travel a top driver of Tri-Rail growth

Tri-Rail trains continued to show ridership growth in the first quarter of 2025, with a 2% increase in the first three months of the year compared to the same period in 2024, back when the system reported having fully recovered its ridership after covid.

The system, which serves three counties, averaged 385,000 passengers a month in 2025, with March just short of 400,000 rides, according to its operator, the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority.

The transportation authority recently reported that the train system served over 4.4 million riders in 2024, about 30,000 short of its highest ridership in record year 2019 of 4,495,039 riders.

Tri-Rail trains have been averaging 15,000 weekday daily riders since 2024, and reached 16,000 on several days in 2025, said David Dech, transportation authority executive director. Weekend service remains strong, with Saturdays topping 8,000 rides and Sundays 7,000 on a regular basis.

“As we continue to expand and enhance our services, it’s clear that South Floridians are increasingly recognizing the value and convenience of Tri-Rail,” Mr. Dech added. “With more people relying on Tri-Rail for their daily commute and travel, we remain committed to improving service and ensuring a reliable transportation option so even more people come onboard.”

Train station ridership reports indicate that airport travel remains a major driver of Tri-Rail growth, with the Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale Airport stations being the top and third busiest stations for the system, respectively. The second business is Metrorail Transfer Station, where passengers can connect to Miami’s Metrorail system and Tri-Rail trains provide service to MiamiCentral Station in downtown.

The system has also seen an increase in the express train service that was introduced in July 2024, with a weekday southbound morning train and a northbound evening train, providing limited stops and a one-seat ride between MiamiCentral and West Palm Beach. Ridership on the express service is averaging 450 round-trip passengers a day and often tops 500.

With more passengers using Tri-Rail, the transportation authority will be launching an educational campaign for passengers on the importance of purchasing tickets before boarding the train and avoid being removed from trains for not having valid fares, Mr. Dech explained. Train passes are sold at all Tri-Rail station ticket vending machines and on Tri-Rail’s mobile app, available on the iOS App Store and Google Play Store.

“We are grateful to have a dedicated ridership base that supports Tri-Rail and lets us know what we need to do to improve our services,” he said. “This continued growth in ridership demonstrates people are appreciating our efforts to make this a better system.”

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