San Luis Obispo Rail Corridor Agency (LOSSAN Agency), a joint powers authority composed of rail owners, operators and planning agencies along the entire LOSSAN rail corridor, will receive $82 million in state grant funds for projects to expand and improve passenger rail service in Southern California.
The funding is part of the California State Transportation Agency's (CalSTA) 2016 Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP), which provides funding to state projects that will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by improving rail and transit services.
“We appreciate CalSTA’s support of this program, which will allow much-needed improvements to the second-busiest intercity passenger rail corridor in the nation,” stated David Golonski, chairman of LOSSAN Agency. “This program of projects will result in more frequent and integrated passenger rail service, improved on-time performance and safety, and a better overall passenger experience.”
The award includes $66 million to advance work on a number of high-priority capital improvements, including more than 5 miles of additional double track; replacement of five railway bridges, station and safety enhancements; and signal and switch upgrades.
CalSTA Secretary Brian Kelly said, “The LOSSAN rail corridor is critical to the movement of people and goods from San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara to Los Angeles and San Diego. We are pleased to support investments that will make passenger rail a more attractive travel alternative and help reduce congestion and GHG emissions on parallel highways.”
“We appreciate the efforts of the LOSSAN Agency and its partner agencies to deliver this beneficial project which will ultimately support connectivity with high-speed rail,” added Kelly.
The LOSSAN Agency submitted a TIRCP application in April in partnership with the San Diego Association of Governments, the North County Transit District and the Orange County Transportation Authority.
The following projects included in the application were awarded funding:
- Elvira to Morena Double Track – Constructs 2.6 miles of double track, replaces bridges and makes signal improvements in San Diego County.
- Laguna Niguel to San Juan Capistrano Passing Siding – Constructs 1.8 miles of siding and signal improvements in Orange County.
- San Diego River Bridge Double Track – Constructs 0.9 miles of double track, replaces and builds a new bridge and makes signal improvements in San Diego County.
- Carlsbad Poinsettia Station Improvements – Constructs a new grade-separated passenger crossing, installs new track crossovers, and makes other improvements in San Diego County.
- LOSSAN North Robust Timetable – Develops a robust timetable for all trains between Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo that builds upon a similar effort recently completed for the southern segment of the corridor.
- LOSSAN Corridor Network Integration and Strategic Investment Study – Plans and implements a comprehensive corridor wide study of integrating all rail services in the corridor.
- Talgo Rail Equipment – Provides a five-year capital lease, including maintenance, for 31 rail cars to replace aging trainsets.
The 351-mile LOSSAN rail corridor serves the counties of San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. The corridor includes 41 stations with more than 150 daily passenger trains and more than 70 daily freight trains. It is the second busiest intercity passenger rail corridor in the United States. Annually, more than 2.8 million passengers use the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner intercity trains and 5 million passengers use Metrolink and COASTER commuter trains.
The LOSSAN Agency assumed management responsibility for the Pacific Surfliner service in July 2015, following the execution of an interagency transfer agreement with the state of California.