County Hears New Rail Pitch

Proponents of a futuristic rail system that would use magnetic energy to whisk passengers between Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties at more than 200 mph appealed to the Orange County Transportation Authority for support Monday.

Even as OCTA struggles to gain funding for its own light-rail project, an official from the Southern California Assn. of Governments said a “maglev” rail line could soon be built in Southern California with mostly private funds.

The system, so named because it uses high-powered magnets to levitate and propel rail cars, would initially link Los Angeles International Airport and Riverside but would later include connections to Anaheim and other Orange County stations, according to SCAG President Ronald Bates, a Los Alamitos city councilman.

Bates said it would require $950 million in seed money from the federal government.

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Despite Bates’ enthusiasm, OCTA officials accepted the presentation with little comment.

“This is all pretty new,” said OCTA spokesman Dave Simpson after the presentation. “We’re just starting to learn about it.”

The maglev proposal is one of seven similar ones nationwide that are competing for the $950 million in environmental review funds offered by the Federal Railroad Administration.

Unlike a far longer train route proposed by the California High Speed Rail Authority, which would use an as-yet-undetermined technology to link San Francisco to San Diego, the maglev program would focus primarily on linking Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties. For this reason, some have criticized the maglev proposal as being misguided. High-speed trains, they say, are meant for long distances, not short, regional hops.

Barry Samsten, SCAG’s maglev program administrator, said after the meeting Monday that the proposed maglev network would ease mounting highway congestion and pollution caused by increases in population and jobs in Southern California.

Samsten said the maglev system is “emerging technology,” by no means experimental. The best-known maglev train operates in Emsland, Germany, and runs along a demonstration track that is less than 20 miles long.

The first segment of the California maglev system would run slightly longer than that, about 38 miles, and link LAX with Ontario International Airport and the former March Air Force Base in Riverside County. It would cost an estimated $5 billion to $6 billion to build.

Maglev proponents hope to finance construction with private investment. They say projected ridership of 75,000 a day would ensure adequate revenue in the form of fares and cargo fees.

If successful, the maglev system would be extended to Orange County, as well as northern Los Angeles County.

SCAG officials say it’s unclear exactly what would happen to the project if it does not win the federal seed money this fall. “We’re trying to figure that out right now,” Samsten said.

Information on the maglev rail line proposal can be found at https://www.calmaglev.org/.