In the 1990’s Santa Fe Railway sold its Los Angeles to San Bernardino line through Pasadena (the old 2nd District) to Metrolink, the area commuter agency. Now BNSF has broken ground for building a big shipping center in Fontana. Are they going to pay for double tracking the ten to thirteen Metrolink miles from the new facility to San Bernardino, or will BNSF just grin and bear their hot new trains having to wait hours for two-way commuter rushes to subside?
In the Chicago area, BNSF holds most of its freight trains out of the Chicago-Aurora suburban zone during rush hours. This practice is of long standing. UP may have a similar practice on the Chicago-Geneva West Line.
Chances are they would have run Metrolink on the Pasadena line if it has lasted anyway though, right? Not that I’m against that. I think that’s what they should have done in the first place. And there wouldn’t have been the lull period that allowed nimbyizm to set in. I was looking at the wonderful new express bus way that was created on the old Valley Branch the other day, and started wondering how much the people of the Pasadena area would have loved that in stead.
Dave
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