Coachella Valley–San Gorgonio Pass Rail Corridor Service
Coachella Valley–San Gorgonio Pass Rail Corridor Service is the project title of an effort by the Riverside County Transportation Commission to start regular passenger rail services between Los Angeles and Indio, California.
The Sunset Limited has made stops in the Coachella Valley since the train's inception under Southern Pacific, but by the time Amtrak took over control of the service in 1971 it had been reduced in frequency to three round trips per week. Amtrak maintained this schedule, and by 1999 the only passenger rail station in the valley is located in a remote part of Palm Springs which is served at inconvenient hours.
Various modes were studied to reinstate a more regional service since at least 1991. Funding for the active incarnation of the project headed by the RCTC initially came from the SunLine Transit Agency, with further support by federal grants, the California State Rail Assistance program, Caltrans, and the FRA. Long been seen as the preferred operator, Amtrak was formally identified in the Alternative Analysis phase. Service is envisioned to start at Los Angeles Union Station and run over the route of the Southwest Chief, switching to the valley's Union Pacific line at Colton to run over San Gorgonio Pass and terminating at Indio or Coachella. Operations include one afternoon and one evening trip in each direction for two daily round trips.
