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Restoring PAssenger Rail Service To Monterey
Author: Eddie Elkins
Date: 08-09-2013 - 12:25
Carol L.Voss Wrote:
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> The Monterey reports you read probably came from
> TAMC (TRANSPORTATION AGENCY OF MONTEREY COUNTY)
> who are the biggest dope smokers you ever met.
> The Monterey Branch was sold to Monterey County in
> 1999 and the UP ran to the bank high-fiving the
> sale of what I call the Brooklyn Bridge branch.
> It has to be TOTALLY rebuilt and the trestle
> bridge of the Salinas river needs to be totally
> replaced for earthquake retrofitting. All of the
> growers in the Salinas Valley ship their 7+million
> tons (yes, at least that much the last I looked)
> of produce out by TRUCK and all of the
> infrastructure which used to support the rail
> transport has been removed etc. One would think
> that a Delano-type operation here would make sense
> but----------------ain't gonna happen.
> C.
> PS---we are retired growers and understand
> shipping etc.
Rehabbing of the Monterey Branch wouldn't be any more far-fetched than, say, the project to get Metrolink service started on the San Jacinto Branch to Perris and Hemet. In both cases, astonishingly enough, money will need to be spent for upgrading the track and other infrastructure. Some track will have to be re-laid from Sand City to Monterey. Similar to the service that was started from Boston to Portland, if multiple trips are offered in each direction over the line, that will give the traveling public enough flexibility that they'll use the service.
When Espee was running the DEL MONTE, the ridership was lousy because it only catered to people on the Monterey Peninsula wanting to make a day trip to San Francisco. There was a lone morning norhbound departure and a lone evening southbound departure. And that was it. Had Espee scheduled a southbound morning train and a northbound evening train, the populace of San Francisco and San Jose would have had a nice way to get to and from the Monterey Peninsula for a day's visit.
If the track could be put back in along Cannery Row up to where the aquarium is, and if frequent schedules were offered, I would wager that rail service to Monterey would be highly successful.
Of course, this is probably what has many NIMBYs on the Monterey Peninsula (or elsewhere along the line) scared of. And that probably explains why restoration proposals are bogged down.
There could probably be some potential for freight service along the line as well, but, first and foremost, there has to be a willing desire by various parties to cultivate such business.
-------------------------------------------------------
> The Monterey reports you read probably came from
> TAMC (TRANSPORTATION AGENCY OF MONTEREY COUNTY)
> who are the biggest dope smokers you ever met.
> The Monterey Branch was sold to Monterey County in
> 1999 and the UP ran to the bank high-fiving the
> sale of what I call the Brooklyn Bridge branch.
> It has to be TOTALLY rebuilt and the trestle
> bridge of the Salinas river needs to be totally
> replaced for earthquake retrofitting. All of the
> growers in the Salinas Valley ship their 7+million
> tons (yes, at least that much the last I looked)
> of produce out by TRUCK and all of the
> infrastructure which used to support the rail
> transport has been removed etc. One would think
> that a Delano-type operation here would make sense
> but----------------ain't gonna happen.
> C.
> PS---we are retired growers and understand
> shipping etc.
Rehabbing of the Monterey Branch wouldn't be any more far-fetched than, say, the project to get Metrolink service started on the San Jacinto Branch to Perris and Hemet. In both cases, astonishingly enough, money will need to be spent for upgrading the track and other infrastructure. Some track will have to be re-laid from Sand City to Monterey. Similar to the service that was started from Boston to Portland, if multiple trips are offered in each direction over the line, that will give the traveling public enough flexibility that they'll use the service.
When Espee was running the DEL MONTE, the ridership was lousy because it only catered to people on the Monterey Peninsula wanting to make a day trip to San Francisco. There was a lone morning norhbound departure and a lone evening southbound departure. And that was it. Had Espee scheduled a southbound morning train and a northbound evening train, the populace of San Francisco and San Jose would have had a nice way to get to and from the Monterey Peninsula for a day's visit.
If the track could be put back in along Cannery Row up to where the aquarium is, and if frequent schedules were offered, I would wager that rail service to Monterey would be highly successful.
Of course, this is probably what has many NIMBYs on the Monterey Peninsula (or elsewhere along the line) scared of. And that probably explains why restoration proposals are bogged down.
There could probably be some potential for freight service along the line as well, but, first and foremost, there has to be a willing desire by various parties to cultivate such business.
Restoring PAssenger Rail Service To Monterey