(The following story by Dug Begley appeared on The Press-Enterprise website on Septebmer 9.)
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Amtrak trains speed three times a week through the heart of Loma Linda. Robert Ziprick wishes they would stop.
Ziprick, a Loma Linda city councilman, and a handful of other Inland officials and businesses leaders are pressing Amtrak to stop in their cities. The cities, including Indio, Beaumont and Palm Springs, argue more Inland train stops are needed to reduce costs and expand travel options for rail riders.
Facing higher fuel prices and reduced airline service, many travelers and elected officials are turning to trains.
Linda Tilton has traveled from Palm Springs to her home in Rochester, N.Y., by car and by plane, but last week she switched gears.
“We thought, ‘We’d never gone back by train,’ ” explained Dayne Tilton, Linda’s husband.
“And it was a lot cheaper than flying,” Linda Tilton added.
Boarding at the North Palm Springs station, Tilton said it makes sense to add rail service. Many travelers tired of driving or flying would like the option, she said.
The push to expand train service is taking place locally and across the United States.
Arizona is studying the use of short-range trains used mostly for ferrying employees to their workplaces, similar to Southern California’s Metrolink service, and intercity rail such as Amtrak service that connects cities nationwide.
Officials in California said now is a good time to make a case for more trains, on both Metrolink and Amtrak lines.
“The ridership is there,” said Richard Silver, executive director of the Rail Passenger Association of California and Nevada. “As California has grown in the last 30 years, the need for more train service has grown with it.”
Twenty-two states are competing for $30 million in federal funds to study expanding rail offerings, but some in Congress are angling for even more investment. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., is proposing that a larger portion of the 18.4-cent-per-gallon federal gas tax pay for Amtrak equipment. The proposal would give the train system $400 million more to expand and improve service, particularly by replacing aging locomotives and rail cars.
Some of that expansion could find its way to Southern California, already a hub of Amtrak activity. Los Angeles is one of the major stops in the West, and two major national trains roll through Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The Southwest Chief connects Los Angeles to Chicago, with daily stops each direction in Riverside, San Bernardino, Victorville, Barstow and Needles. The Sunset Limited takes riders from Los Angeles to New Orleans, stopping Wednesday, Friday and Sunday mornings in Ontario and Palm Springs going west, and later on those same days going east.
Whistle Stops
Two cities, Loma Linda and Indio, have talked with Amtrak about adding stops.
Amtrak agreed to six stops at a new transit center planned in Indio. A groundbreaking for the center is expected this month, said Indio spokesman Mark Wasserman.
Indio spent about a year discussing the station with Amtrak before reaching an agreement, Wasserman said. A private developer is building the station on city-owned land, under a 50-year leasing agreement.
Loma Linda has not committed money or land to the deal, yet. Still, Ziprick said the city is ideal for Amtrak service because the Sunset Limited train from Los Angeles to New Orleans runs right through the city.
“It goes right past,” Ziprick said. “It wouldn’t be a long stop, maybe two minutes.”
For travelers coming to and from Loma Linda University or the area’s medical centers, the train service would be very popular, Ziprick said.
But hurdles remain. City Manager Dennis Halloway said the city and Amtrak might negotiate the details of building a station for months, possibly years, before riders disembark in Loma Linda.
In a letter to Halloway, Amtrak Western District Government Affairs Director Jonathan Hutchison said that once a formal request is made, the train system will evaluate if a stop makes sense based on projected ridership, cost and revenue potential. Amtrak must also negotiate with the railroad that owns the track, in Loma Linda’s case Union Pacific Railroad, and determine if any track improvement is needed.
Any station or terminal built for passengers would likely be paid for by the city, county or private businesses.
“We employ an airline-style philosophy — happy to serve a location where it makes economic and operational sense, but the public sector needs to address the associated capital investments,” Hutchison wrote.
Ziprick said he realizes Loma Linda might have to contribute money to get Amtrak service started, something he would be willing to consider. Any decision would be made by the City Council after Amtrak studies a Loma Linda station.
Connecting the Spots
Silver, head of the passenger rail association, said public investment is necessary because California needs expanded rail service, especially in areas such as the Coachella Valley that do not have consistent, daily train service. He noted that the valley’s growth is going to make connecting it more frequently by train to Los Angeles inevitable.
“The valley is growing, and it’s going to be growing more — and one more because I am going to retire there,” Silver said.
California is planning for some of that increased growth, said Caltrans spokesman David Anderson. He noted that $400 million from Prop. 1B, the $19.9 billion transportation bond voters approved in November 2006, is dedicated to adding and expanding railroad tracks.
Anderson said lines between Los Angeles and San Diego, for example, are planned for upgrades because commuter, intercity and freight trains use the route.
Inland routes, already carrying billions of dollars worth of goods from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, are also potential candidates for new tracks, said Rich Tolmach, a spokesman for the California Rail Foundation, a nonprofit group that conducts educational campaigns about rail service and state rail developments.