Some Metrorail stations will see shorter waits in Miami-Dade as the Orange Line returns

The Orange Line trains running to and from Miami International Airport will return to their pre-pandemic schedules servicing stations down to Dadeland South — a change that will mean shorter waiting times throughout most of the system.

Miami-Dade County’s transit arm will make the switch Oct. 31, restoring Orange Line service from MIA to Dadeland South, rather than the current schedule of a single Orange Line train running back and forth from the airport to the Earlington Heights station.

That arrangement was implemented during sweeping transit cuts imposed at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. It left almost all passengers riding Metrorail’s main Green Line, which runs from Dadeland South to the system’s other end point at the Palmetto Station.

During the peak times in the morning and afternoon, Green Line trains are scheduled to arrive every 10 minutes at the 15 stations between Dadeland South and Earlington Heights. Orange Line trains will follow the same schedule, reducing the wait time for trains heading north and south to five minutes.

The change won’t mean shorter wait times for passengers using the seven stations north of Earlington Heights. Those stations, including in Hialeah, Brownsville and the Tri-Rail link, are only served by the Green Line.

Miami-Dade announced the change in a press release from the office of Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, who oversees the Department of Transportation and Public Works.

“Restoring full Orange Line service will allow us to better serve riders as more people are coming back to public transportation, expanding and improving mobility for South Dade residents as well as for employees and visitors traveling to and from the airport,” read a statement from Levine Cava.

This story was originally published October 12, 2021 at 8:25 PM.