San Diego News Network: Local Politics, City And County Government Alicia DeLeon Torres: Mass transportation in SD
Alicia DeLeon Torres: Mass transportation in SD
The Obama Administration had great foresight (and an advocate in Vice President Joseph Biden) to provide Amtrak with $1.3 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding aka stimulus funds. According to Amtrak’s website, the plan is to “repair and rehabilitate Amtrak’s systems, infrastructure and rolling stock as well as accelerate progress on Americans with Disabilities Act compliance and station accessibility efforts”. Huh?
‘Got it - Amtrak is going to improve the rail system, repair equipment, hire new employees, and be ADA compliant.
Unfortunately for us Amtrak stimulus funding for California is targeted for areas between, and including, Los Angeles and Sacramento. Huh?
Does Amtrak know that there are some critical needs south of Los Angeles? The 6:10 am and 5:10 pm trains between San Diego Santa Fe Station and Los Angeles Union Station are busy “commuter trains”. It means a bunch of people regularly take those trains to and from work every day. I’m one of those crazy people.
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As a regular commuter, I appreciate Amtrak rails, trains, and employees (wonderful people) more than the general public. ‘Notice no mention of ticket prices or food quality - that’s another blog. I - and I’m sure my fellow commuters - are also highly sensitive to the fact that we were left out of the stimulus plan.
Hence my open letter to Amtrak’s President and CEO:
“Dear Mr. Joseph Boardman,
Please include the San Diego to Los Angeles Amtrak Corridor (aka Pacific Surfliner) in your stimulus plan.
The tracks are worn out in several places with the worse being at Fullerton. Actually, maybe I should thank you for this, since I’ve become more religious while riding the rails. I usually recite an “Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be…” when passing through the Fullerton.
Additionally, the train breaks down every now and then (at least 4 times since August 2008). Once we had to be pushed by another train from Solana Beach to Los Angeles Union Station. It took 6 hours and became a prominent “Dear Diary” moment (mostly because I had so much time to write while sitting on that train - did I mention it took 6 hours to get to work that day?).
Actually, train service gets “interrupted” quite frequently. This past month has been exciting! A Metro Link derailed ahead of us, thus interrupted service for all other trains. Service ended at Anaheim for the morning. Since I couldn’t get to work, I decided to get back on the same train after it turned around (as did many of my co-commuters) and head back to San Diego. That was a bonus ride. Apparently, many of the riders began drinking alcohol bought from the Cafe at or before 10 am. The train ran out of alcohol before noon - somewhere between Oceanside and Solana Beach. I know this because the café attendant announced, over the intercom, that our train had made Amtrak history by running out of all forms of alcohol before the commute end.
There are other non-stimulus funding related items that need attention. I will save them for another time - another blog. Until then -
Thank you for your consideration, and attention to these issues.
Sincerely - A San Diego to Los Angeles Commuter”
Alicia DeLeon-Torres is a Commissioner for the City of San Diego’s Commission on Gang Prevention an Intervention, and the National Director for National Asian Pacific American Families Against Substance Abuse.
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