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Re: You could take a train to Coachella...We don't presume, we plan....
Author: BOB2
Date: 03-11-2019 - 15:48
wandering wonderer Wrote:
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> Wondered about that too. At least one other stop,
> maybe in the San Bernardino or Pomona area with a
> large parking lot at the station or in easy
> shuttle distance, would seem appropriate. One
> presumes that the train would use the Sunset (SP)
> route out of downtown LA.
We don't presume, we plan. Based on travel demands and travel patterns (traffic volumes, origins and destination pairs, route choices, mode choices, travel costs) we look at historical, existing, and predicted travel growth, and identify future transportation "needs". Then we develop alternatives, and test them, for costs, benefits, tradeoffs, and impacts.
I've don a lot of work on this, and at least some of you would apparently be surprised by the data showing significant commute travel demand from the Coachella Valley into even Orange County and LA County. PeMS data supports this. And, ten years ago when I was still working with the good folks down in the Coachella Valley, the trains was looking better and better. Yes, it would cost a billion, as I assumed that we would need an additional passenger main to "mitigate" the UP's entirely legitimate business concerns with the impacts on one of the highest volume rail freight line in the world.
Since there is so much demand for travel into Riverside, Orange, and LA Counties, I would look at a passenger flyover and connection to the 3rd District at West Colton, allowing for direct service to OC and LA via either the BNSF via Fullerton, or the UP via Pomona. I would also look at a connection "up the wash" at old Redlands Jct. to a connection with the Redlands line, and assess the costs and benefits of direct service via San Berdoo and the San Berdoo line.
We already have a developed set of connecting rail passenger routes, so I would not think that the Sunset (which duplicates the UP passenger alignment) would be necessary, and would present major additional costs in avoiding interference with things like West Colton.
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> Wondered about that too. At least one other stop,
> maybe in the San Bernardino or Pomona area with a
> large parking lot at the station or in easy
> shuttle distance, would seem appropriate. One
> presumes that the train would use the Sunset (SP)
> route out of downtown LA.
We don't presume, we plan. Based on travel demands and travel patterns (traffic volumes, origins and destination pairs, route choices, mode choices, travel costs) we look at historical, existing, and predicted travel growth, and identify future transportation "needs". Then we develop alternatives, and test them, for costs, benefits, tradeoffs, and impacts.
I've don a lot of work on this, and at least some of you would apparently be surprised by the data showing significant commute travel demand from the Coachella Valley into even Orange County and LA County. PeMS data supports this. And, ten years ago when I was still working with the good folks down in the Coachella Valley, the trains was looking better and better. Yes, it would cost a billion, as I assumed that we would need an additional passenger main to "mitigate" the UP's entirely legitimate business concerns with the impacts on one of the highest volume rail freight line in the world.
Since there is so much demand for travel into Riverside, Orange, and LA Counties, I would look at a passenger flyover and connection to the 3rd District at West Colton, allowing for direct service to OC and LA via either the BNSF via Fullerton, or the UP via Pomona. I would also look at a connection "up the wash" at old Redlands Jct. to a connection with the Redlands line, and assess the costs and benefits of direct service via San Berdoo and the San Berdoo line.
We already have a developed set of connecting rail passenger routes, so I would not think that the Sunset (which duplicates the UP passenger alignment) would be necessary, and would present major additional costs in avoiding interference with things like West Colton.
