Bill to improve, protect Southern California rail line advances through State Senate
A bill to protect and revitalize one of the busiest rail lines in the nation passed the California State Senate Thursday.
Senate Bill 1098 would clear the way for improvements, investments and preventative action to protect the LOSSAN Rail Corridor, the 351-mile rail line that snakes its way from San Luis Obispo County in the north to San Diego County in the south, passing through some of the most densely populated regions in the U.S.
The rail line is used by both passenger rail and freight trains and is crucial to the Southern California economy. But in recent years, it’s fallen victim to weather-related disasters, particularly in the areas where train tracks run along the Pacific Coast opposite steep, sloping hillsides.
Over the past three years, there have been five prolonged service interruptions in Orange County caused by landslides or other weather events that sent debris onto tracks or caused saturated hillsides to slump into the rail line’s right-of-way.
Most recently, rocks and mud slipped from a privately owned hillside above the tracks in San Clemente. That weather incident affected train service throughout the area for nearly two months.
Environmental approval for bullet train between L.A. and Bay Area expected soon
The bill to revitalize the crucial LOSSAN Corridor calls for a new framework and coordination that would prioritize specific goals for the rail line and lay out a pathway to improve infrastructure and protect it from future environmental disasters.
Authors of the bill say it would allow for a regional group to better manage and govern the LOSSAN Corridor, require regular reporting to the state legislature regarding performance, operations and resiliency, and “clarify the role” of the California Secretary of Transportation to provide regular guidance and recommendations to support the rail line.
“We need a long-term coordinated plan to ensure our rail line is getting the investment and support it needs to reach its potential,” said State Sen. Catherine Blakespear (D-Encinitas), the bill’s primary author. “SB 1098 sets the foundation to address critical resiliency challenges facing the LOSSAN Rail Corridor and improve its operations so rail service can become more reliable and effective at transporting Californians where they need to go.”
Blakespear, who chairs the Subcommittee on LOSSAN Rail Corridor Resiliency, represents California’s 38th Senate District, which covers northern San Diego County and parts of southern Orange County. Last year, a bill she authored to require the LOSSAN Corridor’s managing agency to include reports regarding the effects of climate change along the rail line and identify projects that could protect it from future damages was signed into law.
As California, as well as much of the United States begins reevaluating the role of passenger rail service in and between busy metropolitan areas, the LOSSAN Corridor has been specifically identified as a rail line with significant potential for growth.
Already the second-busiest intercity rail corridor in the U.S., advocates say ridership could be dramatically improved with better planning and coordination between local agencies and the state.
“It is imperative to address resiliency challenges and grow ridership to meet the state’s mobility and climate goals,” Blakespear’s Office wrote in a Thursday news release.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
