Transit In the News

Bullet trains could one day shoot through the Inland area in three directions, carrying people to Northern California, Las Vegas and Phoenix at speeds topping 150 mph.

Local officials say the challenge is making sure trains don't just streak by without stopping.

The state's plans call for linking San Diego to Sacramento, with a swing through the Inland area.

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Though no final route has been chosen by the state commission overseeing the $40 billion project, initial plans have the route following interstates 215 and 10. Construction of the line between Los Angeles and San Francisco could begin by 2011, proponents said, with trains traveling more than 200 mph on the lines less than a decade later.

Less defined is a proposed Phoenix-to-Los Angeles route. The line could be one of the most successful at luring riders in the country, according to a report from a Washington, D.C., think tank.

Then there is the privately funded Desert Xpress, linking Victorville and Las Vegas. Construction of the line, which would speed across the Mojave, is set to begin next year, business officials in Nevada said. The project would follow a new route separate from existing rails and hit speeds up to 150 mph.

Riverside and San Bernardino counties would be at the crossing of three high-speed rail lines that are gaining momentum with officials in California, Nevada and Arizona.

FOCUS ON LA

And though Inland commuters are not the customers many of the routes are seeking -- most of the focus is on Los Angeles residents -- Inland officials said it won't hurt if Riverside and San Bernardino counties can sell themselves as the nexus of high-speed rail transportation.

High-speed rail works best when trains can reach high speeds, but having to makestops slows things down. Rather than the 20 or so stops made by commuter trains across the region, the Inland area might share, at most, three or four major high-speed stops.

Tying places such as airports, train stations and freeways together allows travelers and commuters to get where they are going more easily. Someone traveling in the region could quickly and easily switch from trains to planes to cars in one place.

"The Inland Empire is a huge hub for things coming from the east and northeast," said Mitch Alderman, director of transit and rail programs for San Bernardino Associated Governments. "I don't think high-speed rail will be any different."

But the decisions might be outside local control.

California's north-south route has advantages over others in the country, many said. Voters approved nearly $10 billion for high-speed rail planning, and leaders in Congress have made a point of promoting the state's plans.

Federal officials will dole out $8 billion nationwide for high-speed rail, and California has asked for more than half of it for planning and early-stage construction.

But don't expect trains to pull into the station anytime soon in California or throughout the west.

For the next five to 10 years in most parts of the country, millions of dollars will be spent merely studying high-speed rail lines and planning connections. California might have a head start, but bullet train buzz is hitting other areas as well.

"The phase we are in is, 'Hello, we are out here and we want to be recognized,' " said Tom Skancke, executive director of the Western High Speed Rail Alliance, which formed earlier this year.

The alliance, a consortium of agencies in Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Colorado, filed as an incorporated entity in Las Vegas earlier this month. Work has just begun trying to grab federal money to study how high-speed rail can connect Las Vegas, Phoenix, Denver and other western cities outside California.

"You can't do rail in pieces; it has to be a national system or network ...," Skancke said. "This is a 20-year vision... If you don't start building the system today, much like the interstate system of the 1950s, we won't have a high-speed rail system."

STOP AND GO

Two components determine success for high-speed rail. Studies suggest limiting stops and connecting cities close enough for a daylong car trip. A report by the Brookings Institution in Washington found bullet trains work best for trips less than 450 miles, where connecting two major cities is the primary focus.

Based on the report, connecting Los Angeles to San Francisco, Las Vegas and Phoenix are the three most effective high-speed rail routes in the country.

Though the Inland area sits within two of those three routes, officials in Riverside and San Bernardino counties must pick and choose where to seek stops, officials said. A central place for the lines to converge might make the most sense, some suggested.

"I believe that in the end it will and should be located at the Ontario airport," Caltrans District 8 director Ray Wolfe said in an e-mail. "Planners realize the value and importance of modal interconnectivity today, and ... this is the key point in the (Inland region) from that perspective."

said to be inevitable

With highways reaching their breaking point in the area, getting more people on board trains is pretty much inevitable, many said.

"As our population grows, all traffic-related issues will multiply, from congestion, to air pollution, to global warming emissions, if we do not build alternatives beyond freeways," said Erin Steva, spokeswoman for the California Public Interest Research Group, a supporter of high-speed rail and less freeway building.

With many projects in the works inside and outside California, Inland officials, like many agencies where backing will be needed to build bullet trains, will be courted for their support.

"I can guarantee you there will be cooperation, and we will reach out to them," Skancke said.

Skancke, a consultant for the Riverside County Transportation Commission, said the need for a national focus means many agencies and states should be involved in the decisions.

"It would be great if everybody (west) of the Mississippi River signed on," he said of the Western Rail Alliance.

Reach Dug Begley at 951-368-9475 or dbegley@PE.com