6th Commuter Train Station Is Proposed

As part of a continuing effort to alleviate bumper-to-bumper freeway traffic, a sixth Orange County commuter train station has been proposed, this one for a new business park in Mission Viejo.

The station is planned as part of the commuter rail system proposed by the Orange County Transportation Commission that is expected to be operational by 1991. The new station may also serve some non-rush-hour stops for Amtrak.

It comes as the county’s fifth station, in the Irvine Spectrum, is within 2 months of completion.

A train stop in Mission Viejo would “give people an alternative to the Interstate 5 and relieve the San Juan Capistrano depot from additional commuters clogging their areas,” said Dana Reed, a member of the Orange County Transportation Commission.

The idea for the station came from Mission Viejo officials, who suggested to the Mission Viejo Co. that it establish a station or train stop in the Pacific Gateway Center, an office park under construction just west of Interstate 5 between Nellie Gail Road and Oso Parkway.

6-Acre Site

Six acres of the Gateway Center, which is on a 54-acre site owned by the Mission Viejo Co., may be used for the train station, said Wendy Wetzel, the company’s director of corporate affairs.

Although development of the Gateway Center property for the station would mean destroying some wetlands, officials have received the necessary approval from state and federal environmental agencies to construct the station, said Robert Breton, chairman of the Mission Viejo Planning Commission.

Wetzel said this is the second time a train station has been proposed for Mission Viejo. In the late 1970s, the Mission Viejo Co. offered to install a train station in the Saddleback Technology Park area south of Oso, but the Irvine Spectrum site was chosen instead.

Thomas Fortune, spokesman for the OCTC, said the commission is in the midst of establishing the rail service to augment Amtrak service to some Orange County cities and alleviate the congestion on I-5.

The north and southbound trains would run only during commuter rush hours from San Clemente to Los Angeles at about 20-minute intervals.

The new commuter rail system will require additional track and trains so they would not interfere with Amtrak and freight train schedules, said Sharon Greene, chairwoman for the Los Angeles-San Diego Corridor Rail Agency. The agency, which represents Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties, will oversee the addition and improvement of the tracks and the trains, she said.

Dependable, Economical

“Commuter rail is the most dependable, economical, efficient form of transportation to and from work today,” Breton said. “A train station that will be in the hub of Mission Viejo and the Saddleback Valley would be extremely convenient for commuters and attract a large ridership.

Breton, who worked with the rail agency, estimated that the normal $20 round-trip cost of taking the Amtrak from San Juan Capistrano to Los Angeles would be cut down to about $8 a round trip under the new commuter rail.