SACRAMENTO, Calif. — In the wake of a difficult 2023 for Southern California’s struggling Surf Line route, the Senate Transportation Subcommittee on LOSSAN (Los Angeles – San Diego – San Luis Obispo) Rail Corridor Resiliency is requesting a formal partnership and shared goals with the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) in a leadership role. The 351-mile route has been the victim of low ridership last year due to multiple landslide and erosion disruptions.
A letter from the Senate subcommittee was sent to CalSTA Secretary Toks Omishakin on Jan. 16, 2023. This comes after three 2023 hearings which have evaluated a 3.9 million-ridership count in the fourth quarter of FY 2023, compared to the peaking 8.3 million passenger count in FY 2019 [See “Slide disruptions hurting Pacific Surfliner ridership …” News Wire, May 17, 2023].
“The corridor cannot provide the level of service needed to attract and retain ridership while facing prolonged track closures, unreliable service, infrequent trains, and poor rider experience,” said Sen. Catherine Blakespear, LOSSAN subcommittee chair, in the letter. “Gaining ridership in what has historically been the second-busiest intercity rail line in the nation requires us to think differently and boldly.”
According to the letter, the subcommittee asks CalSTA to immediately prioritize the following actions in a leadership role:
- Work with the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Resiliency to formalize a partnership with the route’s owners and operators, from Amtrak to BNSF Railway.
- Restore full service and begin expansions.
- Identify resources needed to achieve the goals outlined in the 2023 State Rail Plan specified for the route.
- Identify a new non-rail funding source for emergency bus services during service disruption. The letter states: “The current practice of funding these bus services from the California Intercity Rail Program — the primary funding source for intercity rail operations and customer-facing services like ticket counters — relies on cuts to rail service or the passenger experience to cover emergency expenses. Due to issues in San Clemente , this resulted in a $6.5 million loss of funding for rail operations last year.” [See “Surfliner, Metrolink could face another extended stoppage …” News Wire, April 29, 2023]
In a news release on Blakespear’s website, the letter was signed by members of the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Resiliency, along with Senate President pro-Tempore Toni Atkins. In 2022, Atkins secured a $300 million state investment to support the route into San Diego, and last year approved the formation of the subcommittee. “We urgently need to develop a unified vision that will allow the [Surf Line] rail corridor – which is critical to our regional economy and national security – to better serve the communities it connects and protect it from the impacts of sea level rise,” as quoted by Atkins in the release.
Erosion has been a thing on coastlines since the beginning of time. Not a five alarm climate change fire.
Sadly geotechnical issue and geohazards will only accelerate with climate change and the extreme precipitation events associated with it.
Well….working with multiple government agencies here in California. Yea. Right. That’s going to work out just great. Maybe I’ll see improvements before I die. {snark}
As a side point, Pro Tem Atkins, who represents part of San Diego, has launched her campaign for governor – Gavin Newsom will be termed out in 2026.
“Identify a new non-rail funding source for emergency bus services during service disruption.”
Normally, emergency bus service is used to supplement rail service when that fails. It is thus part and parcel of the rail service and does not warrant separate funding. But if a highway fails (washout, bridge failure, etc,) is that funded through the regular highway appropriation?
It is an interesting thought.