• Under this new plan, one-way tickets to Miami on this route are $17.50. It would cost $35 a day to take the train in both directions.
• It will only stop at Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport, and the transfer station before reaching MiamiCentral.
• The express train will leave the West Palm Beach Station at 6:30 a.m. and get to MiamiCentral at 8:05 a.m.
• In the afternoons, the express train will leave Miami at 5:35 p.m.

A new way to get from West Palm Beach to the Magic City kicked off Monday morning.
Tri Rail is launching their pilot program for an express route to Miami, eliminating more than 10 stops along the way.
I asked Tri Rail leaders why they’re deciding to launch this now and if this has anything to do with Brightline rising their prices for their tickets.
Their answer was yes.
Brightline made the decision to get rid of their train passes, effective June 1.
They say “it has become increasingly difficult to accommodate all guests as peak trains are reaching capacity,” according to their website.
Before, you could buy 40 one way tickets for $400. Now, After their price increase and changes that started this month, those same 40 tickets would cost you $1,400.
Brightline says they worked with Tri Rail to alleviate this.
Under this new plan, one-way tickets to Miami on this route are $17.50. It would cost $35 a day to take the train in both directions.
I asked the executive director of South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, which runs Tri Rail how that relationship worked.
“We went through our schedule to see if we could actually squeeze it in. We saw that we could, and then we went to the board for the budget for it,” said David Dech SFRTA’s executive director. “Brightline recognized that there were going to be some people that were upset with the pricing and reached out to see if there was something we could do to help everybody.”
It’s a one-seat ride, meaning passengers won’t have to transfer.
The express train will leave the West Palm Beach Station on Tamarind Avenue and Clematis Street at 6:30 a.m. each weekday and get to MiamiCentral at 8:05 a.m.
In the afternoons, the express train will leave Miami at 5:35 p.m.
Tri Rail says this will cut the drive time between West palm beach and Miami by more than 30 minutes.
The new express route also eliminates a bunch of stops.
It will only stop at Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport, and the transfer station before reaching MiamiCentral.
The stops that were kept were chosen strategically, according to Tri Rail.
WPTV about more trains becoming available for this route. Dech says they’ll use all the information they get from the pilot to decide if they can add more trains to this route.
“Later on in the year we’ll be able to evaluate our business model in general,” said Dech. “I don’t have the funding or the equipment to just put on a whole bunch of additional express trains. We do share this line with Amtrak, we share this line with CSX. We don’t have a blank check to go out and kind of do whatever we want. But this is a good opportunity to see if there really is a demand.”

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The Miami Heat have dominated the NBA’s Southeast Division, winning 12 titles since 2004.

After failing to win it last season, the gap potentially widened Sunday when teams were allowed to negotiate with free agents. The Orlando Magic, who are the reigning division champs, are planning to add Denver Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope once players are allowed to sign.

Caldwell-Pope gives the Magic an experienced scorer to pair alongside rising star Paolo Banchero and forward Franz Wagner. Last year Caldwell-Pope averaged 10.1 points and shot 40.6 percent from the 3-point line.

He won two championships, both against the Heat. In 2020, he was a key cog in the Los Angeles Lakers defeating Miami during the bubble season in Orlando. In 2023, he was a starter on the Nuggets team that knocked off the Heat in five games.

He should help the Magic improve on last year’s 47-35 record after reportedly agreeing to a three-year, $66-million deal. They have one of the league’s top frontcourts in Banchero and Wagner, who combined to average more than 42 points and 12 rebounds.

The Heat, meanwhile, are less flexible than the Magic and Philadelphia 76ers because of salary cap space. They are limited on who they can add as a free agent, so will have to likely part ways with Tyler Herro or Duncan Robinson for any chance of revamping the roster.

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Inside The Heat. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Twitter: @ShandelRich

With the 2024 NBA Draft in the rearview and free agency around the corner, the market is beginning to form as teams and players are making decisions on their player options. One member of the Miami Heat is banking on landing a more desirable offer on the open market, which could intrigue the Detroit Pistons.

Leading up to the draft, HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto reported that Caleb Martin isn’t expected to return to the Heat by making $7.13 million next year. Instead, he prefers a “bigger payday.”

The Pistons are loaded with cap space this summer, and have an opportunity to make an intriguing offer or two for a big name in free agency. At this point, it seems some of the top-tier players are likely to look the other way when the Pistons come calling.

A lot of that has to do with the state of the Pistons. After achieving fewer than 15 wins last year, Detroit doesn’t have much intrigue to veterans such as Paul George and Klay Thompson, who are looking to contend for a title right away.

Perhaps, a player like Martin is willing to grow with a rebuilding franchise while earning a better deal after signing a multi-year contract with the Heat in 2022. Initially, Martin re-signed with Miami on a three-year deal, worth up to $20 million.

Last season, Martin had his best offensive season with Miami. Appearing in 64 games, he shot 43 percent from the field, averaging ten points per game. He also dished out two assists per outing. Both marked his career high. From three, Martin knocked down 35 percent of his attempts.

Martin’s NBA journey started as an undrafted prospect out of Nevada. He joined the Charlotte Hornets on a two-way contract, splitting time with the organization’s G League affiliate.

After spending two seasons with the Hornets, Martin was waived ahead of the 2021-2022 season. He was given another chance with the Heat, landing a two-way deal. Eventually, Martin became a rotational piece, averaging over 25 minutes per game.

With the Pistons in need of proven veterans to surround Cade Cunningham with, Martin could be an interesting free agency option.

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