Train Proposal Ray of Hope for Commuters

It sounds too good to be true--and maybe it is. But the recent pronouncement by a Japanese firm that it is willing to front the money for construction of a magnetically levitated train to link Orange County with Los Angeles is welcome news.

The firm, High Speed Surface Transportation Corp., made its immodest proposal at a state Senate hearing on commuter rail. HSST general manager Eiji Ikeda said the firm would pay the $30-million-per-mile cost for the line in exchange for rights of way along freeway medians and an exclusive operating agreement. The firm said it could have a five-mile demonstration project along the Santa Ana Freeway in operation within 18 months of approval.

What makes the project particularly appealing is, of course, its private financing. That means that HSST believes the commuter line could be profitable--something many people think is not possible in public transit. The firm obviously believes that drivers of those cars crawling along the freeway during rush hours can be lured onto trains. This, despite the spotty appeal of rail service to commuters so far. Last year’s Orange County Annual Survey, for example, noted that only 1% of Orange County residents take public transit to work, although it did show strong support for the concept of rail service.

Of course, building a commuter transit service is in and of itself a daunting task. Just gaining the rights of way that HSST says it needs will be difficult. And, as one administrator for the California Department of Transportation warned, the firm may not have considered how many bridges and overpasses might have to be reconstructed to accommodate a high-speed train system.

Still, the public transportation proposal, along with several others that have come along the track (so to speak) in the last year or so, give us hope that there might be some alternative to freeways in the transportation future of Orange County and the entire region.

Efforts are under way to improve service and add trains to Amtrak’s San Diego-Los Angeles route during the planned widening of Interstate 5. And there is growing interest in a monorail that would run along an 18-mile route with stops in Huntington Beach, Irvine, Orange, Costa Mesa, Anaheim and Santa Ana and feeder systems to the major stations. Also, while it would not help commuters, plans are moving ahead for the so-called “gambler’s special” between Anaheim and Las Vegas. Three firms have indicated they intend to bid for the right to build the 300-m.p.h. futuristic train, at an estimated cost of more than $4 billion.

There are enough obstacles to put the kibosh on any of these proposals. But there seems to be something happening to peoples’ thinking here that makes all of them seem a little more possible. That’s welcome news for Orange County’s freeway-weary travelers.