High-Speed ‘Tilt’ Train to Make Stop in County

A sleek X2000 “tilt” train on Friday embarked on a journey down the coast toward Ventura County, providing Southern Pacific Lines a high-profile sales tool to show how its underutilized track could be tailored for high-speed travel between Los Angeles and San Jose.

Supporters said the Swedish-built train is equipped with a hydraulic tilting system that allows it to bank into turns for a faster and smoother ride on winding tracks such as those found along the curving coastal route.

They say the promotion run will showcase the potential of Southern Pacific railroad tracks as a cost-efficient alternative to other higher-speed trains planned for the Central Valley. The train is scheduled to make a brief stop in Moorpark on Wednesday afternoon.

“The coast route represents enormous opportunity” for quickly moving people and goods, Assemblyman Rusty Areias (D-San Jose) said at a press conference at which business, labor and environmental groups joined together to herald the tilt technology.

The electrified train, however, is being pushed down the coast by a diesel locomotive because the coast route is not electrified. The train, capable of speeds of more than 100 m.p.h., is being pushed at much slower speeds but passengers still will feel a much smoother ride, especially on curves, according to a Southern Pacific spokesman.

Backers say a diesel-powered tilt locomotive capable of running the train on the coast route will be in service within a few years. They argue that the train could provide a comfortable, quick and lower-polluting alternative to the automobile and would also provide needed construction jobs.

But Jim Drago, a California Department of Transportation spokesman, said that while the state is interested in the tilt technology “this particular equipment really doesn’t have a practical application in California” where most tracks run along straighter routes.

The sleek tilt train, complete with plush carpeting, ergonomically designed seats, pay telephones and handicapped-accessible restrooms, is scheduled to be on display Tuesday from 2:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in San Luis Obispo, but no public tours are planned in Ventura County.

The train is supposed to arrive in Santa Barbara at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday and depart on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m., arriving in Moorpark for a 15-minute stopover at 2:40 p.m. before heading for Union Station in Los Angeles, where it will be on display from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday.

Unlike most other high-speed train technology, the five-car, one-locomotive tilt train, costing $15 million to $20 million, is designed for existing rights of way. Still, a Southern Pacific study estimated that $357 million would be needed to improve the track’s roadbed--an expenditure that would help cut the 10-hour trip between Burbank and San Jose nearly in half.

Based on the Southern Pacific study, these improvements would allow the train to achieve operating speeds of up to 110 m.p.h. along the route. Now, Amtrak’s passenger trains on the coast route run at 50 to 80 m.p.h.

The demonstration is part of a nationwide sales pitch by Amtrak to drum up interest in the train, which leans into every curve to reduce centrifugal force and has pivoting axles so it can take turns at higher speeds. Earlier this year, Amtrak conducted a three-month study of the train, built by ABB Traction Inc., on the Washington-New York Metroliner service. It was designed to determine whether quicker, smoother trains could be introduced on existing U.S. tracks.

ABB officials say they plan to build the train in Elmira, N.Y.

The demonstration tour is being underwritten by ABB, the Federal Railroad Administration, Southern Pacific and Santa Fe, according to an ABB spokesman. He said that elsewhere state governments have also participated in helping promote the train.

But in California, Department of Transportation officials decided not to participate because the state is acquiring locomotives and trains specifically designed for use in California, primarily on much straighter tracks.

“We believe that the technology we are buying is state-of-the-art technology and built lower to the ground so it’s more handicapped accessible,” said Caltrans spokesman Drago.

Drago noted that the federal government has designated an essentially straight inland route between Sacramento and Los Angeles through the San Fernando and San Joaquin valleys as one of five high-speed rail corridors in the nation eligible for $1.3 billion in federal transportation funds.

But Assemblyman Areias contended that “high-speed rail is just as important on the North Coast and the Central Coast as it is throughout the Central Valley of our state.”

In fact, Caltrans officials in May assured Assemblyman Jack O’Connell (D-Carpinteria), whose district includes western portions of Ventura County, that the coast route would not be neglected in future rail studies conducted by a task force established by Gov. Pete Wilson. And legislation is pending in Sacramento to place that requirement in law, too.

Michael Furtney, director of Southern Pacific’s corporate communications, said that the coast route is particularly suited for more passenger trains because it is currently underutilized, especially in the amount of freight carried along the route.

Even if public funds are found to bring tilt trains to California, another question surrounding the coast route is whether passenger trains would be run by Southern Pacific, Amtrak or some other agency.

Furtney acknowledged that last year the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission was granted a no-cost option to acquire the 400-mile coast route.

He said the Metropolitan Transit Authority, which has succeeded the commission, continues to hold the option but doubts that it will be exercised.

Greg Davy, an MTA spokesman, confirmed that the transit agency has no plans to pursue acquisition of the coast rail route.