Tri-Rail is grappling with a $27.1 million funding shortfall with few options so far in sight.
The Florida Department of Transportation has “redefined” its statutory minimum for funding from $42.1 million per year to $15 million, said David Dech, executive director of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, which operates the commuter train service.
At a July 25 workshop session, Dech said Tri-Rail spends $2.5 million a week running its trains. If no other funding is found, the money the service has on hand will allow it to operate only until July 2027.
Dech said eliminating weekend service would extend operations just 8.5 days while cutting the line’s express trains would add only four days of service.
Despite the gloomy outlook, Authority Board member Jim Scott said Tri-Rail is not going away. “We’re not going to abandon service,” he said.
But Palm Beach County Commissioner Marci Woodward, who chairs the authority, was not optimistic.
“For Palm Beach County, we do not have a transportation surtax; my two fellow counties to the south do,” Woodward said. “This is a big ask, for us this is an ask for us to take this money out of property taxes. … It’s just money we don’t have.”
— Steve Plunkett
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