California State Rail Plan 2007-08 to 2017-18

2007-08 – 2017-18 California State Rail PlanThe study proposed local funding for the new station at Palm Desert. The City ofIndio received a State-matching grant of $1.5 million to construct its new station.A serious impediment to intercity rail service between Los Angeles and Indio isthe UP’s recent decision not to consider operation of new passenger train corridorsat this time. This single track route has very heavy freight traffic that makes theoperation of passenger service difficult.Operating PlanThe Department proposes one daily round-trip between Los Angeles and Indio.No funding for this service is included in the ten-year operating plan, as the startdate of this Route is uncertain at this time.The Department believes this extension is a good candidate for intercity railservice because:• There is existing Amtrak intercity rail service on a good part of the route, andall but one station already exists.• There is local support and financial commitment.• There is existing moderate bus ridership on the route, with a growingpopulation.SAN FRANCISCO TO MONTEREYState-supported intercity rail service from San Francisco to Monterey wouldconnect the San Francisco Bay Area to an important tourist and population centerof the State that currently has very inadequate intercity transportation.BackgroundCurrently, the only Amtrak service existing between Monterey and San Franciscois via the Coast Starlight, which provides one daily round-trip from Oakland toSalinas, with bus connections to San Francisco from Oakland and to Montereyfrom Salinas. In June 2005, Caltrans discontinued Capitol Corridor feeder busservice from San Jose to Monterey due to low ridership.The Transportation Agency for Monterey County (TAMC) has conducted anumber of studies on train service options between San Francisco and Monterey.The San Francisco-Monterey Intercity Rail Service Implementation Plan wascompleted in 1998. In 2003, TAMC completed the Monterey Intercity RailProject Study, which included conceptual engineering; initial cost estimates, andenvironmental screening for the project.In the near-term, TAMC is planning a new service to link Monterey toSan Francisco through a combination of local service and Caltrain commuter railservice. Starting in 2014, local light rail or bus rapid transit service is planned toconnect Monterey and Marina, and later extend to Castroville and possiblySalinas. TAMC is concurrently working with Caltrain to extend commuter rail172