Train service from Indio to Los Angeles

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$3 Million Grant to Fund Passenger Rail to Desert

The proposed rail service would go from Los Angeles to Indio.

By City News Service:

The Riverside County Transportation Commission was awarded a nearly $3 million grant to do preliminary planning for daily Amtrak train service between Indio and Los Angeles, it was announced this week.

The $2.98 million grant from the Federal Railroad Administration will be used for an analysis of routes, an environmental impact report and development of a service plan.

“While we still have a lot of work to do, this is great news for Riverside County, the Coachella Valley and San Gorgonio Pass,” said Daryl Busch, who chairs the RCTC. “Our desert communities are known throughout the world, but there needs to be another way to get there besides having to drive on Interstate 10.”

Currently, Amtrak’s Sunset Limited stops at a station in Palm Springs three times each week, at hours described as inconvenient. The new plan calls for one round-trip each day, with two stops in the Coachella Valley and one in the San Gorgonio Pass.

The Coachella Valley-San Gorgonio Pass Rail study can be viewed at www.cvrailproject.info.