Local News in Brief : Commuter Train Plan
Commuter trains, long popular in the northeastern United States, may be rolling from Orange County into Los Angeles as soon as 1990.
Under discussion among state, county and private transportation officials, a new service of two morning commuter trains would leave San Clemente for downtown Los Angeles and return at night, making four stops in Orange County.
Also under consideration is San Diego County service in which two trains would leave Oceanside for San Diego in the morning and return at night.
The total purchase price is estimated at $32 million for five trains, two for each route, with one held in reserve.
Operating costs to run the two commuter lines along existing rails are estimated at $1.54 million a year in 1986 dollars, according to a state report called the Los Angeles-San Diego State Rail Corridor study. Train tickets could be as low as $1.50, the study proposed, but transportation officials said Thursday that they probably would average twice that.
Orange County officials have set a target date of early 1990 for the commuter trains to Los Angeles because they want the trains running before Caltrans expands its massive project to widen the Santa Ana Freeway.
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