Palmdale Backed for Super-Train Station

The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to ask a California-Nevada transportation committee to consider the Palmdale Regional Airport as a station site on the proposed high-speed train route from Southern California to Las Vegas.

The California-Nevada Super-Speed Ground Transportation Commission is in the process of studying a rail line that would link the two states by means of a high-speed train using advanced technology. Nevada interests are promoting the super-train.

Although the Palmdale Regional Airport is now unused, the City Council voted to become involved in the process of providing possible train service to the site to keep alive its options.

Officials of the Los Angeles Department of Airports argue that in return for California’s permission to construct the rail line, the builders should route it through Palmdale. The department hopes to revive the small Palmdale terminal--which is owned by Los Angeles--and to build a large international airport at Palmdale someday. They see the train proposal as a means of solving one of the site’s chief problems, its distance from the city.