Sharing tracks could save homes (Source: The Orange County Register)

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Sharing tracks could save homes

By ALEJANDRA MOLINA

THE ORANGE
COUNTY REGISTER

The California High Speed Rail Authority will take another look at sharing rail lines with existing Metrolink and Amtrak services – a move that could save homes in Anaheim and Buena Park.

"We are all trying to figure out how to do this in the best way possible," said Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle, chair of the nine-member high-speed rail authority board.

The authority is proposing to build an 800-mile-long rail line that would transport passengers from Anaheim to San Francisco in about three hours. The overall cost is estimated at $42.6 billion and would be funded with private and public money, including federal and state funds and bonds.

The board of directors voted to examine sharing tracks Thursday after the chiefs of the Orange County Transportation Authority and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation submitted a letter requesting the agency reconsider the option in the Anaheim to Los Angeles segment of the project.

"We would like to make these services more coordinated and integrated," wrote Metro's Arthur Leahy and OCTA's Will Kempton.

"We believe that this shared use alternative will significantly reduce the impacts upon the ... corridor communities between Los Angeles and Anaheim... as it would not require viaducts, aerial structures and trenches," the March 23 letter said.

Richard Katz, a Los Angeles transportation official who is on the high-speed rail board, said the shared-use option could save up to $2 billion. It would also save hundreds of homes along the Anaheim to Los Angeles route, officials said.

The shared-use option was previously considered and discarded. Officials began looking at tunneling or building at the existing level and creating grade separations – to separate the rail line from car traffic.

Under that option, the line would run on dedicated tracks parallel to the existing Metrolink line.

A dedicated-track option would require taking over some homes and properties to expand the existing rail line to accommodate the high-speed train and Metrolink on separate tracks.

"It's kind of exciting to put this alternative back in," Pringle said.

Officials also said interest in the shared-track alternative resurfaced following the award of $2.25 billion in federal stimulus funds for the high-speed train project.

Over the last few months, Pringle said, the Federal Railroad Administration has been more open to considering shared use.

The agency will continue looking into a dedicated-track option as it develops a draft environmental impact report for the Los Angeles-to-Anaheim section of rail line.

If the shared-use option were to be adopted, Pringle said, fewer or no major property purchases would be required.

For Buena Park, the shared alternative would mean not having to choose between sacrificing their two-year-old Metrolink station or 40 condominiums, said Mayor Art Brown.

"The shared use alternative makes the most sense," Brown said.

The first segment of the line would be constructed between Anaheim and Los Angeles, taking passengers from near Angel Stadium to L.A.'s Union Station in 20 minutes. The cost of that segment: $4.8 billion.

Top operating speed on the high-speed line will be 220 mph – mostly in the Central Valley, where it's straight and flat. In urban areas, the trains will travel at speeds of 110-125 mph.

The Associated Press and Register staff writer Eric Carpenter contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: 714-704-3795 or amolina@ocregister.com