Plans for a passenger rail line connecting Los Angeles to the Coachella Valley continue to inch forward.

Late last month, the Riverside County Transportation Commission announced an $80 million contract with engineering firm HDR to take the proposed Coachella Valley Rail (CV Rail) line through the environmental review process.

“CV Rail is a vital transportation investment that will connect Riverside County — particularly the San Gorgonio Pass and Coachella Valley — with the rest of Southern California through daily passenger rail service," said Riverside County Transportation Commission chair Raymond Gregory in a news release. "This project delivers benefits that will positively impact our region for generations. At its core, CV Rail is all about offering residents, visitors, and commuters better choices and smart alternatives to traveling solely by automobile."

The project imagines the construction of an approximately 144-mile rail line utilizing existing track between Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles and the Coachella Valley. In addition to an existing stop in Palm Springs, plans call for potential new stations near the Loma Linda/Redlands area; within the communities of Beaumont, Banning, and Cabazon; near Cathedral City, Thousand Palms, Agua Caliente Casino, Rancho Mirage, and Palm Desert; in the City of Indio, and  inthe City of Coachella.

"UP Yuma Subdivision near Cabazon. Under the plan, the line would be expanded to three tracks to allow for additional capacity for passenger service through the corridor."Wikimedia Commons

Estimated to cost upwards of $1 billion, the project would include the addition of a third main line track on the Union Pacific Railroad Yuma Subdivision, as well as new crossovers and sidings, a new railroad bridge at the Santa Ana River, and various other infrastructure and grade separation projects. An end-to-end-trip between Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles and the Coachella Valley would take approximately three hours and fifteen minutes.

The project is one of several ambitious passenger rail projects which call for laying new tracks crisscrossing Southern California, including the Brightline West high-speed train to Las Vegas, California High Speed Rail, and the High Desert Corridor project which would link the two.

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