Miami Metrorail
Metro · Miami · Miami-Dade Transit
2 lines · 23 stations · 15 interchanges
Every line drawn through its stations. Tap a line in the legend to hide or show it.
Lines
Quick facts
- Operator
- Miami-Dade Transit runs Metrorail.
- Network type
- Elevated heavy rail with two services: Green Line and Orange Line.
- The practical visitor split is simple: Orange reaches Miami International Airport, Green reaches Palmetto and Tri-Rail.
- MetroElevated rail
- Payment
- Fare gates take contactless payment, EASY Card, EASY Ticket, and mobile passes. Fare gates do not accept cash.
- Cash can still be used at vending machines for an EASY Card or Ticket.
- ContactlessEASY Card
- Airport
- Orange Line serves Miami International Airport.
- If you are on the Green Line north of Earlington Heights, transfer at Earlington Heights for the airport.
- Orange LineAirport link
- City use
- Best for MIA, downtown, Brickell, Civic Center, Dadeland, and Tri-Rail connections.
- It is not a South Beach train. For the beach, expect rideshare, bus, taxi, or a car.
- Miami Metromover
Mike’s notes
Miami is not a city where rail magically solves the whole trip. It is too spread out, too car-shaped, and the beach is not on Metrorail. But the system is absolutely useful when your trip lines up with it.
The important visitor use is Miami International Airport to downtown, Brickell, or Dadeland. Tap at the fare gate with a contactless card or phone, ride the Orange Line, and then switch to the Metromover if you are moving around downtown or Brickell.
Airport logic
Miami-Dade's own service page is clear: Orange Line is the airport line. If you are coming from north of Earlington Heights on the Green Line, you transfer at Earlington Heights to continue to Miami International Airport.
That makes Metrorail a good airport answer for downtown and Brickell. It is a weak answer for South Beach. For South Beach, I would compare rideshare, taxi, or a bus in the moment, especially if you have luggage.
What it is good for
Use it for MIA, Brickell, Government Center, the Civic Center / hospital cluster, Vizcaya, Dadeland, and Tri-Rail connections. If those words are not in your day, the train may not be the right tool.
The elevated perspective is the reason to ride. It shows Miami as infrastructure: canals, highways, towers, hospitals, suburban stations, and the airport connector all stitched together above the road grid.
Short history
1984
Metrorail opens
Miami gets its elevated rapid-transit spine, initially focused on the north-south corridor through downtown and Dadeland.
2012
Airport service arrives
The Orange Line extension brings Metrorail to Miami International Airport, making rail a real arrival option for downtown and Brickell.