Study shifts focus on commuter rail

By: CHRIS BAGLEY - Staff Writer | Friday, July 6, 2007 10:52 PM PDT ∞

A commuter rail between Temecula and Corona would cost too much to build and carry too few riders to be cost-effective, but a line connecting Temecula to Riverside via the Interstate 215 corridor remains on the table, according to a consultant's report.

Wilbur Smith Associates has been studying ways to connect southern and central Riverside County with Metrolink, the network of commuter rail lines centered in Los Angeles. In 2005, the firm concluded that it would be possible to connect either Temecula or Hemet with Riverside and Los Angeles.

In a report to the Riverside County Transportation Commission last week, the firm said it could be difficult to acquire enough land between Temecula and Corona. The cost of building the stations and 36 miles of track could amount to $570 million, though the line would probably carry fewer than 1,000 people a day. A shorter alternative between Lake Elsinore and Corona was only slightly more attractive, according to the report.

None of that surprised Ron Roberts, a Temecula city councilman who sits on the board of the transportation agency. Increasingly heavily development in the corridor alternates with steeply sloped canyons that would be expensive to line with track, Roberts said.

"The cost per mile to build it was just completely off the screen," Roberts said.

The pessimistic view for that route could put the focus back on connections through Perris and Riverside, Roberts said. The agency's board is expected to adopt the consultants' recommendations next week in a formal vote.

Metrolink's 91 Line, which runs from San Bernardino through Riverside, Corona and Fullerton to Union Station in downtown Los Angeles, is scheduled to be extended from Riverside to Perris as soon as 2010. From there, it's a relatively easy shot to Hemet or San Jacinto, where a freight rail already exists, or along Interstate 215 toward Temecula.

Government agencies have extensive rights to expand transportation lines in the I-215 corridor. That contrasts with the relatively developed I-15 corridor. Another alternative would be to extend the rail line toward Winchester and then south along Highway 79 into French Valley, Roberts said.

Temecula resident John Marquez, a public works supervisor for the city of Downey, said an extension into Temecula or French Valley could ease his commute significantly. Marquez said he would also have to take a bus for the final five miles from the Metrolink station in Norwalk; that's a time-consuming step, to be sure, but his current commute involves a solo drive to Corona, where he meets up with two co-workers who live in Norco and Riverside. The three then carpool to Downey, arriving by 6:30 a.m.

Because of those early hours, Marquez would need his train to leave Temecula or French Valley by 4:15 a.m., a full hour earlier than trains currently depart from Riverside.

Even if that happens, Marquez would continue to drive with his co-workers on the occasional days when he might need his car, he said. Trains aren't for all commuters, all the time, he said.

"It's convenient for some factory workers and office employees," Marquez said.

The transportation commission is continuing to study the possibility of a commuter rail line or increased bus service between Southwest County and San Diego. Roberts said bus options are more likely, since relatively steep grades in the Rainbow and Bonsall areas would pose serious obstacles to any rail line.

Contact staff writer Chris Bagley at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2615, or cbagley@californian.com.