Expansion
Metrolink has grown in popularity and there are a number of planned extensions of the system and new stations. Station parking capacity has also been strained.
The Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC) wants to extend the 91 Line east- and southward 24 miles to Perris, using the existing San Jacinto Branch Line, which it already owns. Initial plans were for construction/renovation of the line to begin in 2012, but these were delayed by a lawsuit filed by homeowners in the affected area, who challenged the RCTC's environmental report. The agency hopes to get the suit settled and construction begun in early 2013, with plans to complete the Perris Valley Metrolink extension within 18 months.
A new Metrolink station in Placentia, which will serve the 91 Line's north Orange County passengers, is currently in its final design phase. Construction on the Placentia station will begin in 2012 or 2013; it will be the only station on the 91 Line not shared by another Metrolink line.
The Redlands Corridor, a 9-mile (14 km) eastward extension from San Bernardino to Redlands and Mentone is planned by the San Bernardino Associated Governments. The association is considering whether to extend commuter rail along the corridor or to install either bus rapid transit or light rail lines.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has proposed adding commuter rail service along the Harbor Subdivision corridor offering services to Inglewood, Los Angeles International Airport, the South Bay, the Port of Los Angeles, and/or the Port of Long Beach. A decision whether to employ commuter rail, light rail, or bus rapid transit in this corridor has not yet been reached.
In 2008, lobbyists pushed for a rail line to Temecula in southwestern Riverside County via the 91 Line's La Sierra station. While this proposed line could follow the route of an abandoned freight line, it would require significant money, as freight service ceased almost 30 years ago. Despite this, the Riverside County Transportation Commission's 2008 Commuter Rail Feasibility Study still lists this route as one possibility being considered.
The cities of the Coachella Valley (Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Palm Desert, and Indio) have requested commuter rail service from Los Angeles and Orange County, but the Union Pacific Railroad opposes further passenger service on its tracks. Nonetheless, as recently as 1999, the Coachella Valley Association of Governments was investigating the possibility of two daily round trips via the 91 Line from Los Angeles's Union Station through Fullerton and Riverside to stations in Palm Springs and Indio (with a possible stop near Palm Desert), possibly through a partnership with Amtrak. What effect these might have on the 91 Line's Perris Valley extension (or vice versa) is not discussed. This extension would likewise require significant money for infrastructure improvements: at least $500 million, according to the California State Rail Plan of 2005.
Read more about this topic: Metrolink (Southern California)
Famous quotes containing the word expansion:
“Artistic genius is an expansion of monkey imitativeness.”
—W. Winwood Reade (1838–1875)
“We are caught up Mr. Perry on a great wave whether we will or no, a great wave of expansion and progress. All these mechanical inventions—telephones, electricity, steel bridges, horseless vehicles—they are all leading somewhere. It’s up to us to be on the inside in the forefront of progress.”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)
“The fundamental steps of expansion that will open a person, over time, to the full flowering of his or her individuality are the same for both genders. But men and women are rarely in the same place struggling with the same questions at the same age.”
—Gail Sheehy (20th century)