Commentary : Upgrading Train Service Is Right Track for Improving County Transit

Perhaps not ignored (but certainly well obscured) in the avalanche of transportation projects being proposed daily as solutions for Orange County’s mobility crisis is the contribution that Amtrak’s rail services in the county can make.

Eight round trips daily travel through the county between San Diego and Los Angeles. Conventional wisdom, of course, assures us that trains are of the past and have no relevance in today’s modern society. That said, what kind of business do these ghosts from the past do? Last year, more than 1.7 million passengers boarded these trains. This year, patronage and revenue are virtually obliterating the records set in 1988.

And the best-kept secret in Orange County is that these trains not only carry thousands of riders each day, they do it at an operating profit.

In 1988, the ratio of revenue to cost was 106%. The route is a paying proposition. The state’s investment in this corridor, which began in 1976 with the first state-supported train, has blossomed and is now paying dividends far beyond anything envisioned by state officials.

Transportation planners should take a good hard look at this service. Not only does it meet the test of attracting large numbers of riders, it also has the enviable characteristic of paying its own way. Clearly, any comprehensive transportation program for Orange County would recognize the success of this service and earmark the millions needed to expand the line to meet the demand from the public for more and better service.

And that is just what is happening. Sort of. To forestall a railroad plan to reduce train speeds because of aging track, the county has agreed to participate with the state, Amtrak, the Santa Fe Railway and the counties of Los Angeles and San Diego in a $44-million rail replacement program. The 4-year program will result in much better track and a smoother ride for passengers. Unfortunately, this large investment will only keep us where we are today. It will not speed up the trains appreciably or add critically needed track capacity.

To begin to meet this need, the County Transportation Commission is seeking almost $6 million annually from the state to build more sections of double track. Within a few years there could be continuous double track between San Juan Capistrano and Santa Ana.

These projects are good. They will improve service, and the commission is to be lauded for its leadership on the issue. Unfortunately, this level of investment only scratches the surface of what is needed. What is needed is to transform this 19th-Century passenger line into a world-class passenger corridor.

The limitations of this 19th-Century line are clearly being felt as the Amtrak service is beginning to choke on its own success. The riders are overwhelming the ability of the trains to move them. It’s not a simple matter to load and unload 1.7 million passengers and still keep a schedule.

Thus, the schedule between the two end-point cities of Los Angeles and San Diego has gradually been lengthened from 2 hours, 35 minutes to 2 hours, 55 minutes. With proper investment, the state has estimated that the same trains could travel between the end points in 2 hours, 15 minutes. The main problem is the lack of sufficient track capacity for trains to pass each other.

Too frequently riders can find no seat, and those who do sometimes travel in dirty equipment. Paradoxically, this is a telling measure of how hard Amtrak is working to meet the needs of the corridor. Virtually every piece of rolling stock is on the road, and equipment can only be cycled through maintenance every few days. Because all the equipment is on the road, the service has absolutely no ability to expand beyond its current eight round trips, despite the obvious demand for more trains.

Simply put, just as the commission is supporting the vitally needed widening of various freeways by adding lanes, the commission also needs to add more “lanes” to the rail line and to work with the state and other parties to buy more equipment to add more service. And it needs to do it now.

And that’s not all. Following the lead of San Diego County, which has received voter approval for a new commuter rail service between Oceanside and San Diego (in addition to the existing Amtrak service), Orange County is examining the feasibility of starting its own commuter service between south county and Los Angeles.

This would be no casual enterprise and will certainly require the purchase of the rail line from the Santa Fe Railway, which has indicated opposition to commuter service but a willingness to sell the line.

The time has come to match public investment with the clear choice of the residents of Orange County. Not only should developer fees be allocated for regional freeways, perhaps a portion should be allocated for regional rail services. The proposed transportation sales tax should certainly include a significant budget for upgrading the rail line and implementing commuter services.

This financial investment in the rail corridor should be undertaken not only because people may like trains but because they work and the residents of Orange County obviously want them. Poll after poll has shown strong support for the Amtrak services. And in the most important poll of all, the wallet, Orange County has unequivocally cast a strong vote for trains. It’s hard to argue with a 106% fare box.