Phase I: Metrorail and MIA Mover

The Metrorail station under construction in June 2011. The old Tri-Rail station, not yet closed, is at bottom left.

Phase I of the Miami Airport Station consisted of the construction of two connected terminal stations: one for the new Metrorail spur, and one for the MIA Mover, a 1.25 miles (2.01 km) elevated people mover line connecting the airport terminals to the MIC. A groundbreaking for the MIA Mover was held on March 1, 2009, followed by one for the Metrorail spur on May 1.^[2] After two years of construction the MIA Mover station received a certificate of occupancy in January 2011, allowing final systems to be installed. The MIA Mover opened on September 9, 2011, replacing the shuttle buses.^[2]

Construction of elevated railway and the Miami Airport Metrolink station, May 2011.

The Metrorail station, covered in a stainless steel and aluminum canopy, has a Metrobus station integrated into its ground level. The structure was manufactured in Kansas City, shipped in modular sections, and assembled on site. Foundations for the Metrorail viaduct were completed in early 2010, with the beams and tracks installed over the rest of the year. By February 2011, the extension was 75% complete, with most of the station structure in place. The bridge over the Miami River was completed in March 2011. Finishes, glass walls, and canopies were installed in the station in mid-2011. Testing of Metrorail trains on the extension began in January 2012.^[15] The spur to the MIC opened as the Orange Line on July 28, 2012.^[2] The final cost of the Metrorail extension was $506 million, of which $405 million was from sales tax and $101 million from FDOT.^[15]

In the first few years, Metrorail ridership was lower than expected, starting below 1,500 daily and increasing to nearly 2,000 daily by 2015-2016, though notably, ridership was almost equally high on weekends, where most stations have about half the ridership on weekends.^[16]

Phase II: Amtrak and Tri-Rail

A Tri-Rail train at the MIC on the second day of revenue service in April 2015

Phase II of Miami Airport Station consisted of mainline rail and intercity bus terminals, connected to the Phase I station complex with a large pedestrian bridge. The facility has two stub-end island platforms, each served by two tracks. Construction of the facility began on May 18, 2011. Tri-Rail's Miami Airport station closed on September 12, 2011 for what was planned to be two years of construction. Hialeah Market station was upgraded with a temporary ticket office, additional parking, and restrooms, with shuttle bus service to the airport. The closure was expected to save $10 million in construction costs.^[17] Amid design changes due to financial concerns, a ceremonial groundbreaking took place on September 27.^[2][18]

Since the platforms were deemed too short for Amtrak trains, NW 25th Street would have been closed for up to 45 minutes multiple times a day during the winter months

Conflicts arose with Amtrak in regards to the station's platform length. While the platforms can accommodate the nine-to-ten-car trains used for Amtrak's Silver Star and Silver Meteor, Amtrak runs longer trains during the winter months that can be up to twelve cars long to accommodate increased passenger demand. In February 2012, Amtrak became aware that the 1,030-foot (310 m)-long platforms, which they had approved over the course of years of design meetings with FDOT, were too short to handle the longer winter season trains, which need 1,220 feet (370 m) of platform length.^[19]

NW 25th Street is located immediately adjacent to the north end of the station, which prevented easily extending the platforms to accommodate longer trains. When the issue was first communicated to the public in January 2013, three options were under consideration: full closure of the NW 25th Street crossing, a road bridge, or a road tunnel. By that time, FDOT had already begun constructing the platform extensions.^[20] By May 2013, closing the road had been nixed due to local objections. Adding a bridge or tunnel for the road, or extending one of the platforms southwards into the station building, was expected to cost from $6 million to $55 million and delay the station's opening by a year.^[21] After the decision was made not to close the NW 25th Street crossing, FDOT spent $380,000 to demolish the partially constructed platform extensions.^[22] In October 2013, FDOT announced plans for a $9 million solution; the NW 25th Street crossing would remain open but would be blocked by longer winter season trains while they were stopped at the station, which could last up to 45 minutes once or twice a day. To accommodate traffic during extended crossing blockages, FDOT constructed two new roads: an extension of NW 28th Street east across the tracks to Douglas Road (NW 37th Street), and a cut-through from NW 25th to Douglas Road just east of the tracks.^[23]

By January 2015, the project was more than a year behind schedule and still not complete. Along with the platform length issues, there was a dispute between FDOT and the contractor over costs; and a dispute between FDOT, the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority, and the Miami-Dade Aviation Department over ownership transfer. At that time, Tri-Rail was expected to begin serving the station within a few months, and Amtrak in Fall 2016.^[1] Tri-Rail service was finally re-extended to the MIC on April 5, 2015.^[3] Greyhound began using the station on June 24, 2015.^[2]

Amtrak had been expected to move to the MIC from Miami station in Hialeah by the Fall of 2016, but in 2018 Amtrak rejected the terms of a lease agreement with FDOT and said it had no plans to move to the MIC.^[4]

In 2021, Amtrak reached out to FDOT to begin negotiations again for utilization of the station, and in February 2022, negotiations restarted between FDOT and Amtrak.^[24] Later in March 2022, a test train operated into and out of the station and proved that the platforms are sufficient in length to hold a standard ten-car train.^[25] However, the platform cannot fit a train longer than ten cars and two locomotives without blocking NW 25th Street, as the lead locomotive comes up right to the end of the platform. In September 2022, Amtrak management announced that it had restarted lease negotiations with FDOT regarding use and maintenance of the terminal. One issue however, is the deadheading move that will need to take place between the MIC and Hialeah. Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner has stated that "the company is evaluating technical and operational aspects of the move."^[26] In an Amtrak Public Board Meeting Q&A on December 1, 2022, it was revealed that Amtrak was in the final stages of its preparations for relocating from their current Miami station, and had planned to relocate to the MIC in 2023.^[27] However, additional track area would need to be constructed for the Amtrak trains to turn back north.^[28] As of 2024, Amtrak has no date indicated for when service will start at the MIC.^[29]