THE PASSENGER
rail service
will allow
people to
conveniently
connect with
transportation
choices and
destinations.
Arrow: The Redlands
Passenger Rail Project
the state. Th e implementation of
a new rail transit service with the
construction of the Redlands Passenger
T
70 | Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017
Rail Project (RPRP) takes
advantage of an existing but underutilized
railroad line originally
constructed in 1888.
In its heyday, the Santa Fe Railway
served the region’s rapidly
growing population and citrus
economy. Th e line was also famous
for being part of the “Kite
Shaped Route” — a major tourist
attraction in the early years of
the last century. Changing times
and public tastes resulted in the
last passenger train operating in
1938. In the 1970s and 1980s, the
area was hit hard by the closure
of the Santa Fe Railway shops and
Norton Air Force Base, as well as
by the reduction of citrus packing
houses from more than 40 packing
facilities to a single survivor
in Redlands. What had once been
a busy route saw fewer and fewer
trains, until only a once-a-week
freight service remained and the
owner began looking for a buyer.
Planning for
Future Growth
In 1992, SBCTA acquired the
railroad right of way as part of
a plan to establish a passenger
rail network throughout southern
California. Th e new services
were proposed to increase mobility
while helping to revitalize the
communities along the tracks.
Th e San Bernardino-to-Redlands
line became the subject of several
preliminary studies on how to
best utilize the latent economic
By Carrie Schindler, Justin Fornelli
SBCTA is building passenger rail
service to support the region’s
population and employment
growth between San Bernardino
and Redlands.
Images by SBCTA
HE SAN BERNARDINO
County Transportation Authority
(SBCTA) is tasked
with improving the transit
options in the northern
Inland Empire region of
southern California. Th e
area, located in the eastern end
of the Los Angeles basin, is home
to some of the most economically
disadvantaged communities in