I'm a Miami commuter for the moment and I know the ins and outs of this system as I guess I'm in the minority of Miami commuters who actually try and use mass transit.

Tri-rail is strictly a commuter train and is not an intercity train. Except for West Palm Beach all the train stations are just outside the main corridors of major cities, along I-95. You'll need to take a bus, shuttle, rideshare or taxi into the city center. Miami has it far worse as Tri-rail doesn't follow the I-95 corridor and heads west to Hialeah. Basically dropping you off into a train yard where you then have to take the metrorail into the city of Miami.

Brightline is another attempt at creating real intercity rail. A few stops at major cities. There is parking but it is not commuter park and ride.

Btw, I don't own a car. I use mass transit, rideshare, and care hire. In South Florida I'm a bit of an anomaly.

Double average speed, fewer stops, station is in Downtown FTL instead of West of I95, doesn’t have the stigma that it’s what poor people take when they can’t afford a car

South Florida (area between Jupiter and Homestead) is roughly 100 miles north to south and about 15 miles east (Atlantic Ocean) to west (Everglades swamp) so it's a narrow stip of land. Tri-Rail runs mostly (but not entirely) along I-95 (about 2 to 4 miles from the Atlantic Ocean). Nice if you live near a Tri-Rail station, or work near a Tri-Tail station, but that's not the majority of people, who have to travel a significant portion east/west. Again, nice if you have a car. Less so if you don't [1].

[1] Years ago, some friends and I took public transportation from Boca Raton to the Miami Zoo. One way took over three hours and involved several transfers between rail and bus systems.

It’s slow and has too many stops. It’s a problem with public transit in general: it can’t figure out what it wants to be. Is it core infrastructure to get people to work? Is it a life line for people too old or poor to drive? Etc.

I don't understand it either. I'm originally from Fort Lauderdale. The Fort Lauderdale stop is in downtown Fort Lauderdale. If you work there you probably live in Broward. I suppose it gives people waaay in the future to live near a station in Miami and Palm Beach and commute down on the train.

My guess is they are banking on ridership to Orlando. It talks of connecting to Atlanta, and other cities, which would be nice. I've transplanted to Atlanta and would take a train over driving or flying (at a reasonable cost) in a heart beat.

This one goes to west palm beach and eventually to Orlando. I think it is faster too but not sure.

Tri-rail is basically ratchet AF and slow, but it is convenient if you have nothing else.