State Panelists Question County Bid for Rail Rights

The chairman and three other members of the California Transportation Commission have sharply questioned a planned $450-million purchase of Southern Pacific rights of way by Los Angeles County transportation authorities, and suggested that they may withhold $135 million in state funds needed to close the deal, aimed at facilitating commuter rail service.

The transportation commissioners met with Neil Peterson, executive director of the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, before holding a hearing Tuesday in this Riverside County city into rights-of-way issues. According to both sides, they informed him in blunt terms that they will send in their own consultants to evaluate the Los Angeles deal.

Peterson has characterized the rights-of-way purchase as an essential part of a plan to begin operating commuter trains over a 280-mile network connecting Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Santa Clarita, Moorpark and other points within the next four years.

But two commissioners in particular, Bruce Nestande of Costa Mesa and Joe Duffel of Lafayette, were highly critical of the purchase, saying they thought Los Angeles and other California cities might spend so much buying rights of way that there would be no money left to organize and subsidize the commuter service.

They suggested that instead of buying the rights of way, the cities might reach deals with Southern Pacific to share use of the railroad’s lines, or perhaps use highway rights of way in their place at little cost. Moreover, the commissioners said, any commuter rail service must be well planned to serve highly populated areas, or it will lose a lot of money.

Nestande noted acidly that Southern Pacific had been a major contributor to Proposition 116, the $1.9-billion rail bond issue approved by the voters in June. He said it would be a shame if the railroad were to reap a real estate windfall through use of those bond moneys to buy rights of way it later wishes to sell.

“We’ve got to get projects moving and not be panicked by very aggressive right-of-way sellers,” Nestande said.

Peterson, who was not present during the hearing, said later that the state Transportation Commission has “every right” to review the proposed deal with Southern Pacific, but that the voters had spoken clearly in Proposition 116 that they want money provided to organize commuter service. Obtaining such rights of way is a vital part of that process, he said.

Basically, the state commission has only a “ministerial function” in approving outlays of such money and should not thwart the will of the electorate, the Los Angeles official said.

In any event, he said, “I’m confident that when they do review it, they will be fully satisfied, as we are, that this is the best deal for the public.”

The talk by commissioners at the Corona hearing was at times so vehement that a state senator who was present, Robert Presley (D-Riverside), finally interjected:

“I’d caution the commissioners not to be too cautious in backing commuter rail projects. I’m hearing a lot of roadblocks discussed here today. But the people are ready to be a little more bold. We’ve been in highways for 40 years and it hasn’t cleaned up congestion.”

Jack Reagan, the executive director of the Riverside County Transportation Commission, also took issue with the state commissioners, saying he is determined to push ahead with buying rights of way from the Santa Fe Railroad in his county.

But Duffel, the state commissioner, said: “We must avoid being oversold on commuter rail. We’ve spent $25 billion in the United States in the last 25 years on commuter rail, and there are less people riding trains today than there were 25 years ago.”

He did not give a source for such figures.

Commission Chairman W. E. (Bill) Leonard said one question state authorities want answered is who would be responsible for toxic cleanup along the rights of way to be bought. He said he believes it should be the railroad sellers.

But Peterson said he had assured the commissioners that according to the Los Angeles agreement, costs would be paid either directly by the Southern Pacific, or indirectly in the form of discounts on the purchase price.