Tri-Rail express vs. Brightline: How prices food, ride, timing, other amenities compare
With South Florida's public passenger train Tri-Rail, launching its West Palm Beach to Miami express service last week, months after privately run Brightline hiked commuters' ticket prices, a Palm Beach Post reporter rode both to see how they compare.
Tri-Rail is much cheaper than Brightline, but it takes longer to get to its destination and offers a bumpier ride with fewer amenities. It's the budget version of express trains. Brightline feels far more comfortable and reaches Miami faster by about 20 minutes.
Read on to learn details about prices, time, available food and other amenities at each service's stations and onboard the trains.
Huge difference in cost for Tri-Rail, Brightline
Tri-Rail costs $8.75 between West Palm Beach and Miami each way. Brightline’s cheapest ticket from West Palm Beach to Miami starting in the 6 a.m. hour for an adult costs $29 and $54 during the 5 p.m. hour coming back.
The roundtrip on Tri-Rail costs $17.50. It's $83 on Brightline.
The Tri-Rail roundtrip between the Boca Raton station and Miami is $12.50.
Previously: Tri-Rail to offer express trains to Miami to help commuters get to work for $17.50 a day
Tri-Rail offers a $110 monthly pass to ride as many times as one wants during the month.
Brightline offers no unlimited monthly passes. It sells a 10-ride pack for $350. If a West Palm Beach-Miami commuter wanted to take Brightline each of the roughly 20 weekdays in each month, they would pay $1,400.
Timing on Brightline vs Tri-Rail: How long does each train route take?
Tri-Rail's morning express train leaves the West Palm Beach station on its only express trip at 6:30 a.m., arriving in MiamiCentral at 8:05 a.m., while the only express route back leaves MiamiCentral at 5:35 p.m., arriving in West Palm Beach at 7:05 p.m.
Brightline runs trains between West Palm Beach and MiamiCentral just about every hour of the day from the 5 a.m. hour to the 11 p.m. hour.
The Tri-Rail express couldn’t complete its inaugural journey on the morning of July 1 when another Tri-Rail train, heading north, hit and killed someone on Hallandale Beach Boulevard in south Broward County. But it has run on time each day since, a Tri-Rail spokesman said.
Brightline is also sometimes delayed because of pedestrians getting killed because they cross the tracks despite the oncoming train. Three pedestrians in Palm Beach County have died this year on Brightline's tracks, the latest happening on June 18 in Lake Worth Beach.
Tri-Rail's 95-minute trip is 15 to 20 minutes longer than Brightline’s early-morning trains to Miami and afternoon rush hour trains back to West Palm Beach.
Tri-Rail stops at stations serving Boca Raton, the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, the Miami Metrorail and downtown Miami. Brightline from downtown West Palm Beach stops in east Boca Raton, downtown Fort Lauderdale, Aventura and downtown Miami.
Also: Brightline ending $10-per-ride South Florida pass program to make room for Orlando riders
Brightline vs Tri-Rail stations: Open air vs. metal detector
Tri-Rail's West Palm Beach station, on the west side of Tamarind Avenue at Clematis Street, is open-air with metal benches and offers snackfoods from vending machines such as Twix, Snickers, Skittles and honey buns for a dollar or two.
A small restaurant called Pizza Grill serves fresh slices but is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., so early morning commuters will miss out.
Tri-Rail shares its station with the Amtrak train and the Greyhound bus service.
Brightline’s stations are all indoors and air-conditioned. Passengers must run their bags through metal-detecting machines to get in. The stations have bars and restaurants where a meal and a drink will cost at least $10.
Passengers can buy a Tri-Rail pass from a ticket machine at the station or through the passenger rail’s app. The machines take cash or credit cards and dispense passes. Riders can also buy EASY Cards they can load money on, like a debit card, and can be used to pay fare for the train or Miami-Dade County public transportation.
Buying a ticket for Brightline requires more personal information such as passenger name and date of birth. The easiest way to buy a ticket is through the Brightline app or online at GoBrightline.com. Passengers an also try buying tickets on tablets at stations.
How was the ride on Tri-Rail vs. Brightline?
When Tri-Rail's inaugural express train chugged along almost to its maximum allowable speed of 79 mph, the ride got bumpy. Seats shook like the train was riding along small speed humps but never to the point that it felt like the cars would derail.
Passengers gazing out the west-facing windows could see Interstate 95 commuters driving slower than the train as it whizzed past most of them.
The view for most of the ride consists mostly of I-95 traffic on one side and warehouses and industrial buildings on the other. But the tracks rise upward between the Broward Boulevard and Fort Lauderdale airport stations, giving riders a high-up view of boats parked in the slips of yacht dealerships.
Brightline’s ride was smooth even as it reached legal top speed, which was the same as Tri-Rail's. It runs along Dixie Highway or U.S. 1 for most of its journey, so passengers can see the downtowns of the cities born along the tracks, including Delray Beach, Lake Worth Beach and Boynton Beach.
Brightline vs Tri-Rail stations: Food, WiFi, USB ports, seat size
Brightline’s amenities are more like an airplane’s but with more leg room.
Both Tri-Rail's express train and Brightline offer cushiony, comfortable chairs and clean bathrooms.
A 6-foot tall Tri-Rail passenger has about six inches of space between their knee and the back of the next seat.
That same passenger on a Brightline train has more room than Tri-Rail, enough to stretch comfortably without having to get up much. And while Tri-Rail seats have cupholders between them, Brightline has those, along with a fold-down mini-desk from the back of the next seat that passengers can use to eat off or do work on.
Tri-Rail seats are wide enough to seat one person. Brightline’s seats have more than enough space for one person, plus wiggle room. They also have foldable armrests and wings on the heads that make it more comfortable to sleep while sitting, rather than having one’s head hang off to the side.
Brightline cars also have overhead shelves for storage, unlike Tri-Rail. But both trains have dedicated spaces on their cars for luggage or bicycles.
Brightline sells bottled water onboard while Tri-Rail has free water fountains that sometimes lack water.
Brightline sells food, drinks and snacks onboard with basics such as salad, pastries and juices costing $4 to $6, and sandwiches costing more than $10. Tri-Rail does not offer any refreshments on board.
Each Brightline seat has electric outlets and USB ports for devices and charging. Trih-Rail cars have one for every four or five rows of seats.
All Brightline trains have WiFi. Some Tri-Rail trains have WiFi; others don't.
Both Tri-Rail and Brightline bathrooms have the usual necessities of a lavatory. But Brightline’s bathroom doors are button-operated, while Tri-Rail's have handles. And Brightline’s toilets can be flushed by waving one’s hand in front of a sensor, while Tri-Rail's activate by pushing a button.
Chris Persaud is The Palm Beach Post's transportation reporter. You can reach him at cpersaud@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Brightline vs Tri-Rail: Train cost, food, ride, routes, schedule
