Yes sir officer Friday, there have been reports of that proposed service.........

Detective Gannon will explain....

This possible Metrolink and/or LOSSAN "branch" to the Coachella Valley has been under study, of and on, in one permutation or another, by one agency or another, for about 15 years. Given the congestions with the I-10 corridor, and growth in the Valley, it would be an obvious part of any first world passenger rail network covering Sou Cal, and is much needed already. But while the route shows great potential for traffic relief and passenger counts, and could be very effective, it would also cost a boatload of money to give most of Beaumont a 3 and 4 track main, to allow for reasonable schedules and frequencies.

There was a rumor that UP had purportedly said they might offer 3 peak slots for a full third track over the hill, with a "guaranteed" 4 hour schedule to LA.....which some of us rounded off at around $300 million, without major bridge work, back in 2007, aa a minimum cost, for an almost token level of very slow service.

Proposals include ML commute service, and/or an "intercity" extension of LOSSAN from Union Station to Indio, with plenty of local stops. Some folks like this option because they think they can use short distance intercity authority to "force" UP to put a passenger train from LA to Indio which UP would get there in less than 6 hours.... This is one reason that RCTC has "joined" LOSSAN, and participated in that, despite having no current service.

If we ever want to see real "first world" rail passenger service every quarter hour peak and at least hourly off peak, then get ready to shell out about $600 or 700 million and just quad track most of Beaumont Hill with what would be effectively a passenger main adjacent to the current line, designed to a 90 mph speed over most of it.

While that may seem expensive, by comparison, adding a lane each way on I-10 from Indio to the 210, would cost about the same for just the desert segment, when you get in the more urbanized areas beyond Banning, you could even double it, because of bridge costs and the need for property takings, since this was last widened "within" the right of way, and rebuilt a few years back.