End of the line near for Los Angeles Rail? - Los Angeles COunty, CA transit service on indefinite suspension as construction and other plans gear up - Brief Article

Railway Age, Jan, 1998 by William D. Middleton

A new, chapter may be at hand in the turbulent history of Los Angeles County's troubled rail transit construction program. At a special meeting of the Los Angeles County MTA board in mid-December, the agency's interim CEO Julian Burke proposed an indefinite suspension of all but one of MTA's rail projects until the agency can get a firm grip on funding and make improvements to its bus services. The board will vote on Burke's proposal on Jan. 15.

The proposed suspension, which an MTA spokesman said could last from six to 18 months, mill affect four rail projects in various stages of construction and planning. They include the downtown Los Angeles to Pasadena light rail Blue Line, for which some construction is already in progress; an eastward extension of the Red Line subway from downtown to East Los Angeles that is ready to go into major construction; and a planned Mid-City branch from the Red Line and an east-west line across the San Fernando Valley that would connect with the Red Line.

Unaffected by the proposed suspension would be work in progress to extend the Red Line to North Hollywood in the San Fernando Valley. Work is nearing completion on a segment expected to open in a year's time that mill extend service to Hollywood. Just last October a tunnel boring machine broke through to complete drilling of the first of two tunnels under the Santa Monica Mountains for the remainder of the extension, which is now scheduled to open to North Hollywood in May 2000.

While public reaction to the proposed suspension has been muted, a strong reaction can be expected from the East Los Angeles Hispanic community and the Pasadena community. Both have been loud in protesting previous setbacks or threats of delay to their projects.

Funding problems have troubled the MTA's ambitious rail program for several years now. Over-optimistic projections of receipts from MTA's county-wide transportation sales tax measures were compounded by the effects of the region's severe economic recession of the early 1990s. Currently, the funding shortfall for MTA's $2.4 billion, six-year program has been estimated at $727 million. Delays in the schedules for rail projects have been forecast for some time by FTA demands for greater fiscal responsibility.

Uncertain is the outlook for two major MTA rolling stock orders. Deliveries began last summer for an additional 74 Red Line subway cars under a $245 million contract with Breda Costruzioni Ferroviarie, with completion of the order expected about a year from now. Together with the Red Line's initial 30-car fleet, the new equipment will provide enough capacity for both the East Los Angeles and Mid-City extensions now up for suspension, as well as the North Hollywood extension that will go ahead. Under a separate $160 million order, Siemens Transportation Systems has begun delivery of 52 light rail cars, with the order expected to be complete by about 2000. In addition to meeting expansion needs for MTA's existing Long Beach Blue Line and Green Line routes, the order should provide enough equipment to outfit the Pasadena Blue Line, which is now up for suspension.

Interim CEO Burke, a crisis management and turnaround specialist, was selected by Los Angeles Mayor Richard J. Riordan last summer to restore order at MTA after the agency was unable to hire a permanent CEO.