Tri-Rail faces potential shutdown in June 2027 if the Florida Department of Transportation does not restore a major subsidy cut and replacement funding cannot be found. FDOT reduced its annual contribution from as much as $62 million to $15 million beginning with the 2025–26 fiscal year. Tri-Rail is drawing from dwindling reserves to support a $150 million budget. The funding gap would require Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties to increase their contributions to about $10 million each from roughly $4 million. Executive director David Dech has warned officials about the consequences and sought alternative funding.
Tri-Rail, another of South Florida's money-losing transportation companies, has a date certain for its potential demise: June 2027. The red flag goes up if the Florida Department of Transportation, which owns the rail corridor over which the three-county commuter line's trains travel, refuses to restore a dramatic subsidy reduction it decided to impose earlier this year, and no replacement sources can be found.
Instead of contributing up to $62 million annually as it has in the past, the state agency recently informed David Dech, executive director of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, which operates Tri-Rail, that the new figure will be $15 million starting with the 2025-26 fiscal year which started in July. The FDOT has yet to make a public announcement.
Between now and mid 2027, Tri-Rail is dipping into dwindling reserves to cover its $150 million budget, the railroad says. The FDOT decision would place the onus on Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties to raise their respective individual contributions to $10 million from slightly more than $4 million. If the recent reactions from Palm Beach County commissioners are any indicator, the quest for funding increases from each of the counties appears to be a dead letter.
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