BURBANK/GLENDALE : Agencies to Consider Diesel-Run Trains

In a move aimed at saving millions and getting a proposed regional rail transit system on the fast track, the cities of Glendale and Burbank, the Burbank Airport Authority and the Metropolitan Transportation Agency will pay $120,000 to investigate the feasibility of diesel-powered trains.

With the scarcity of Los Angeles County funds for new rail projects, Glendale and Burbank officials said they are concerned that a light-rail line connecting the Burbank Airport to Downtown Los Angeles--an estimated $559-million project--could be decades away.

Replacing electric rail cars with a diesel system could slash costs and speed construction, officials said.

The Glendale City Council voted Tuesday to help pay for the $120,000 study to find out if diesel trains--which are not currently in use anywhere in the United States--are a viable alternative for the Los Angeles-Glendale-Burbank line.

The MTA will pay half the cost, while Burbank, Glendale and the airport will each pay $20,000, officials said.

Glendale Councilman and MTA Vice Chairman Larry Zarian said a diesel-powered train and accompanying track would cost an estimated $259 million. Because of the lower cost, funding for such a system could be secured more quickly and construction could begin in three to seven years, following completion of the environmental review process, he said.

Light-rail lines, such as the one connecting Los Angeles and Long Beach, are powered by tracks that draw electricity from underground power lines. The diesel trains, also known as “railbuses,” use a different type of track, and they accelerate slower and create more air pollution than electric trains, officials said.

But MTA officials said diesel trains could also run on other proposed rail corridors throughout Southern California.