For the first time since it opened in 1984, Metrorail will add a new rail line that will link it to Miami International Airport..

Miami-Dade Transit will officially open its 23rd Metrorail station – the new Miami International Airport Station — Saturday, July 28. Trains serving Metrorail’s new Orange Line will take passengers to all stations between Dadeland South and Earlington Heights, continuing west towards the new MIA Station.

Metrorail’s new service will make it possible for millions of Miami-Dade County residents, visitors and airport employees to have a reliable and seamless Metrorail connection to and from the airport’s MIA Mover.

The 2.4-mile Metrorail extension to MIA, which runs parallel to State Road 112 and crosses the Miami River, is considered the centerpiece of the People’s Transportation Plan — the half-penny sales surtax approved by Miami-Dade voters in 2002. Construction of Metrorail’s extension and station were funded with $404.7 million from the PTP surtax and $101.3 million from the Florida Department of Transportation.

“This is such an exciting project for our community, and it’s going to be a huge benefit for our residents and visitors, alike,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez. “By directly linking our airport to our urban center, we’re joining the ranks of the great world cities – London, Paris, Tokyo – that already enjoy this kind of dynamic, game-changing connectivity.”

For more information on the new line and station, visit www.miamidade.gov/transit (on mobile devices, www.miamidade.gov/transit/mobile); or call 311.