Tri-Rail’s options limited with cuts

Florida subsidy cuts may mean the end of commuter service And Brightline and Spirit Airlines think they’re in a financial squeeze. 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. The agency did not respond to an emailed request from the South Florida Sun Sentinel last week seeking the reason behind the cut. The email also asked whether the state is comfortable with the idea of allowing Tri-Rail to go out of business. 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. Dech, who arrived at Tri-Rail in 2022 after running CapMetro, a bus-train transit system in Austin, Texas, has spent part of his summer on the road, informing government officials of the consequences if the state money is not restored or alternate funding fails to materialize. Non-starter 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. One commissioner wondered where local governments would get their money if Gov. Ron Desantis succeeds with his idea to drastically cut or eliminate property taxes in the state. Another complained of an “unfunded mandate” to further back a rail enterprise the county doesn’t even own. “I think the message was clear that they see Tri-Rail as a valuable service, but they feel the state should pay to maintain their asset,” Dech said in an interview last week with the South Florida Sun Sentinel after laying out Tri-Rail’s plight at a commission budget workshop in West Palm Beach. “They sent the message loud and clear. https://enewspaper.sun-sentinel.com/shortcode/SUN315/edition/9da79621-e832-4ee5-99c0-3e5c4ab7b1c8?page=4e180257-df10-4127-bbcd-6b396e02171e&utm_source=listrak&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=trib-sun_sentinel-eNotify_am-nl&utm_term=https%3A%2F%2Fenewspaper.sun-sentinel.com%2Fshortcode%2FSUN315%2Fedition%2F9da79621-e832-4ee5-99c0-3e5c4ab7b1c8&utm_content=eNotify