LOS ANGELES — The FRA and the California Department of Transportation will jointly prepare an environmental impact statement and a program environmental impact report for improvements to a rail corridor between Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo, according to a notice in the Federal Register.
The FRA is also soliciting input into the development of the scope of the study.
FRA and Caltrans said improvements to the corridor “are necessary to meet the expected growth in population and resulting increases in intercity travel demand between Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo,” according to the Federal Register notice. “As a result of this growth in travel demand, their travel delays from the growing congestion on California’s highways and at airports will increase.”
According to officials, the corridor is the second-busiest intercity rail corridor in the nation. It trails only the Northeast Corridor between Washington and New York.
Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner and Coast Starlight trains operate over the corridor. In addition to Amtrak, the Southern California Regional Rail Authority and Union Pacific operate trains over the corridor.
