It’s been a rocky month for Tri-Rail, plagued almost daily by delays.
In March, trains were on schedule only 77 percent of the time — well below the 90 percent and above benchmark it strives for. So far in April, only 58 percent of weekday trains have run on time.
But the commuter train’s problems don’t end there.
Among the issues:
*Mechanical breakdowns;
*Complaints about cleanliness in cars;
*Trains hitting vehicles or pedestrians;
*Disputes between law enforcement agencies over who handes an investigation;
*Waits of up to two hours for a medical examiner if a fatality is involved.
Passengers are fed up and ridership in April declined 4.3 percent compared with a year ago.
“Travel on Tri-Rail has become extremely distressing,” said Barbara Levine, who rides the train from Deerfield Beach to Hollywood. “Within the past month there are issues every single day.”
Paul Gilmore, of Boynton Beach, said, “I’ve been using Tri-Rail since the first day of service and have noticed a major degrading of reliability since the beginning of this year.”
Tri-Rail officials made no excuses for the past month’s “disastrous” performance. During a Friday board meeting they pledged to restore passengers’ confidence in the service, which carries about 15,000 riders on weekdays.
Tri-Rail’s troubles come as the agency tries to build support for returning passenger service to the coastal tracks that run through downtowns from Miami to Jupiter. Earlier in April, Tri-Rail opened a gleaming new Miami Airport station. And officials are optimistic Tri-Rail will be allowed to serve a downtown Miami station being built by All Aboard Florida.
“We can do all the initiatives in the world, but until we can push our trains in a timely fashion, all that means nothing,” said Palm Beach County Commissioner Steve Abrams, who takes the train regularly from Boca Raton to West Palm Beach.
Over a 13-day span in April, there were five crashes — four in Broward — involving a car or pedestrian. When an accident occurs, passengers are often stuck for hours until law enforcement officials complete their investigation. If the incident involves a fatality, the medical examiner must be summoned and that can take hours, depending on the doctor’s availability.
Tri-Rail safety and security administrator Allen Yoder said the medical examiner isn’t required to go to fatal accidents on I-95. “I don’t know why we are treated any differently,” he said.
To counter those problems, officials pledged to better coordinate with law enforcement and the medical examiner, increase patrols of the tracks to curb trespassing and use bright yellow and white pavement markings at crossings to discourage drivers from stopping on the tracks.
On March 29, Tri-Rail took over track maintenance and dispatching from Jacksonville-based CSX Transportation, a freight railroad. Officials touted the takeover, which it has coveted since service began in 1989, as a way to ensure reliability and respond more quickly to problems.
But that hasn’t been the case. Officials say a new software system has been more difficult to learn than anticipated.
Tri-Rail’s executive director Jack Stephens said the agency can’t blame CSX for its woes any more.
“We asked for this (dispatching) and now we have it,” Stephens said. “I will spend all the time and energy necessary to ensure we get the kind of support and attention needed to get this resolved for our passengers.”
Adriana West, of Fort Lauderdale, said Tri-Rail has more than dispatching problems. She said trains are breaking down frequently and cars are dirty.
Her claim was backed up by Tri-Rail board member Marie Horenburger, who noted the train she took hadn’t been cleaned in some time. “It wasn’t new dirt,” she said.
Tri-Rail purchased 12 new locomotives but only four are in service at any one time. The others are undergoing design modifications. That means older locomotives, prone to breakdowns, are still being used.
By the end of May, Tri-Rail expects all the new locomotives to be put into service.
mturnbell@tribpub.com, 954-356-4155, Twitter @MikeTurnpike, Facebook at SunSentinel.com/concreteideas
