SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — The first test train on a new 9-mile rail line connecting Redlands, Calif., to the Metrolink commuter rail system is slated to run on Wednesday, the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority has announced.
The Redlands Daily Facts reports that the initial run will not be by one of the diesel multiple unit trainsets purchased for the Arrow service, connecting Redlands to the San Bernardino Transit Center, but by a Metrolink train checking clearances at each of the line’s four new stations.
Official testing will begin Feb. 22, continuing until service begins later this year, and will involve both Metrolink trains and the Arrow equipment. Testing will mostly be in daylight on weekdays, but there will be one overnight session of slower-speed testing in February using the Metrolink equipment and in March with the Arrow DMUs.
Stadler is building three FLIRT low-floor DMU trainsets for the Arrow service, the first of which was delivered in December [see “First Stadler DMU for San Bernardino County …,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 17, 2021]. An additional trainset powered by hydrogen fuel cells — the first such passenger equipment ordered in the U.S. — is expected to be delivered in 2024.
