Metrolink commuter system expands network for first time in 20 years (Los Angeles: litigation, bus)

[I Love Buildings]

Metrolink's new Riverside to Perris service starts Monday | 89.3 KPCC

It won't benefit most of you or make a difference to the majority but Metrolink's 91 line now extends into Deeper Riverside, Moreno Valley, and Perris. Next up is extending the San Bernardino line to Redlands and even Coachella Valley/Palm Springs.

Lastly, Metrolink wants to "electrify" the rail lines to increase the travel speed making commuters shorter. I think the system should consider expanding to Victorville by branching off Rancho Cucamonga to connect to the future High Speed Rail connecting Las Vegas.

[LuvSouthOC]

Interesting. I wonder why no plans to run along the I-15 corridor down to Temecula from Corona.

[majoun]

Now will they increase the number of trains?

[I Love Buildings]

I agree with LuvSouthOC, a route connecting Corona with Lake Elsinore, Murrieta, Temecula is IMPERATIVE.


While they're at it, quit making the OC line end at Oceanside, most of us would take Metrolink to San Diego over Amtrak.

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by I Love Buildings

I agree with LuvSouthOC, a route connecting Corona with Lake Elsinore, Murrieta, Temecula is IMPERATIVE.


While they're at it, quit making the OC line end at Oceanside, most of us would take Metrolink to San Diego over Amtrak.

San Diego is not part of the greater LA area so I am not so sure. They'd have to scrap the Coaster train and get with the Metrolink and integrate into the Southland.

[jfsoto1988]

I wonder if they ever considered extending the Antelope Valley Line into Edwards Air Force Base or to Mojave (Kern County).

Some maps consider southeastern Kern County to be part of the Greater Los Angeles Area rather than Bakersfield because of the dividing line formed by the southern tip of the Sierra Nevada (Tehachapi Mountains).

Im sure there are a lot of commuters from Mojave that leave their vehicles at the Park & Ride lots and take either Metrolink or AVTA Commuter Express bus.

[Des-Lab]

I'm sure that Metrolink would love to expand their services. But they are pretty much at the mercy of expanding only on lines they own, with Perris being one of them. And that was only being held up because of finding the funding.

As for the other expansions, good luck with that. They would have to get Union Pacific and BNSF to agree to it.

UP owns the lines to Palm Springs and to and beyond Palmdale. And they absolutely despise passenger trains of any kind; they see the scheduled nature of such trains as an impediment to their preferred ad hoc, quixotic way of scheduling many of their freight trains. The contractual agreements in place now go back 20+ years when freight traffic was a fraction of what it is now. Metrolink, were it to be started from scratch today, would never be able to replicate much of its current system. I'm sure that UP wishes it never allowed them to use its lines and would love to see them gone. So unless they pay for their own dedicated track to run along side the existing right of ways, any additional service (Palm Springs/Mojave/Bakersfield) is pretty much out of the question.

Victorville is also an unlikely option. Although BNSF seems to be a little less hostile towards passenger trains, the fact is that Cajon pass-despite being triple tracked-is pretty full with stack trains. And is a very long and slow winding path. The slow speed that a Metrolink would travel at because of the curves and grades would result in transit times that would not make it viable. From both a marketing perspective and the subsequent tie-up of equipment.

The only other potential expansion I can see would be building the new Perris line out to Hemet/San Jacinto following an existing (albeit seldom-if ever used) line. Or Redlands.

Going down to-say-Temecula....that's a whole different ballgame. There is presently no existing right of way that could be used. Good luck getting that built.

The requisite "environmental studies" and subsequent litigation alone will stall it for fifty years before a single rail ever gets laid.

[jfsoto1988]

They should fill in the gaps with bus service like Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach, unless RTA's Commuterlink Express count as that.

[christianity]

Metrolink should also expand to the western reaches of the la basin......

[christianity]

Originally Posted by LuvSouthOC

San Diego is not part of the greater LA area so I am not so sure.

Huh??

Its not about that......