L.A. Wants Palmdale on High-Speed Train Route

Concerned that a state panel might derail the possibility of expanding Palmdale Airport, the Los Angeles City Council voted Friday to request that the Antelope Valley be included in the route of a proposed high-speed train system.

The state High Speed Rail Authority meets Tuesday to discuss a staff recommendation to have a rail system bypass Palmdale on its way between Los Angeles and Northern California.

Councilwoman Ruth Galanter said a decision to bypass Palmdale, where the city owns a little-used airport, would hurt any chance of turning the facility into a major airfield.

“If we are going to make a success of Palmdale Airport, we have got to have better access to that airport--not only from downtown Los Angeles but also other parts of the state,” Galanter said.

Galanter represents the neighborhoods around Los Angeles International Airport that have complained for years about noise and pollution from the airfield. She would like to see Palmdale shoulder some of the burden of future commercial flights.