A few months ago, I moved just a few hundred feet away from a gold mine that everyone thinks is just an ordinary hole in the ground. It could be making us all rich, but unfortunately no one knows what they’re looking at. Metrolink’s San Bernardino Line is unique among California railways in both its ownership and layout. Given a few proven and relatively inexpensive upgrades, the stations along this line could provide faster, cleaner and cheaper service between the Inland Empire and Los Angeles. What’s more, the increased connectivity to the region’s job center would boost land values around the stations and help right the finances of many cash-strapped cities along the line. The San Bernardino Line, one of just two Metrolink lines whose tracks are entirely owned by the agency, serves an approximately 60-mile stretch between Downtown LA’s Union Station and the San Bernardino Transit Center, with 17 station stops in between. This means that unlike trains that serve Riverside or Orange County, trains on that line do not have to halt when freight trains wish to pass. Modifications to the line similarly do not need to be cleared with Union Pacific, BNSF Railway or another freight operator. The lowest hanging fruit for Metrolink is electrification. Currently, Metrolink trains are pulled by diesel locomotives—an expensive, loud and environmentally atrocious method of powering trains. These trains also accelerate poorly, which means they leave stations less rapidly and regain top speed more slowly whenever they’re forced to brake. Electrification solves these four issues simultaneously. Electric propelled trains—known as EMUs—accelerate faster than their diesel counterparts because they’re lighter and higher performing. In contrast to diesel engines, which emit pollutants linked to both respiratory disease and global warming, EMUs run completely clean and nearly silent. Finally, EMUs are cheaper to run as they can be powered by renewable electricity rather than costly diesel fuel. Improving Metrolink’s service through electrification could also help many Southern California cities in dire budget straits as well. Baldwin Park, Upland and Fontana—cities with Metrolink stations on the San Bernardino Line—have had recent fiscal shortfalls that have led some of them to trim city services. Better Metrolink service could help them patch these. Numerous studies have demonstrated that proximity to high-quality mass transit boosts property values, but research also shows that improvements to transit frequency and speed also increase home prices in the nearby vicinity. Gov. Gavin Newsom understands the benefits of electrification. In his State of the State speech in early January, Newsom touted the electrification of Caltrain, which links San Francisco and the Silicon Valley, “allowing us to move more people, more efficiently.” A little more than a year into electrification, Caltrain saw not only a 54% increase in ridership but a 25 minute reduction in travel time over its 51 mile span—about the same length as the San Bernardino Line. Faster, cheaper trains also meant that Caltrain increased frequency to one train every 30 minutes, even on weekends. A recent report shows similar benefits for the San Bernardino Line. Electrification (and accessible platforms) would make a trip from Rancho Cucamonga to Los Angeles under an hour, faster than driving. Right now, the barriers to electrification fall into two camps: NIMBYism and cargo cult thinking. Electrification requires hanging overhead electrical lines over the tracks to power the trains. In the Bay Area, residents of the hyper-segregated South Bay community of Atherton objected to the aesthetics of these overhead wires, as did residents in Redlands. Such objections are nonsense. I live just a short walk from the Upland Metrolink station and would welcome overhead electrical lines, which are common sights in European city centers. If overhead electrical lines can blend with the unique aesthetics of a city like Vienna, they can most certainly work in the industrial yards and warehouses of the Inland Empire. Fortunately, electric wires are now protected from lawsuits over aesthetics thanks to AB 2503, a bill passed in 2024. Related Articles Larry Sand: The Los Angeles teachers’ union is close to striking, again Carolyn Cavecche: Why conservatives must reject nationalized elections Prediction markets show the cost of prohibiting sports betting California’s once soaring population has hit a plateau. So will its national political clout Sanctuary policies broke the system – but federal overreach won’t solve the problem The second major objection comes from proponents of hydrogen trains. These trains, some of which currently run on the Arrow service between San Bernardino and Redlands, are currently favored by many at both Metrolink and the San Bernardino County Transit Authority as a cleaner, quieter alternative to the current diesel fuel trains. While that may be true, these trains are wildly expensive because they require costly refueling and safety infrastructure to power the already expensive hydrogen power system. What’s more, hydrogen trains are also unreliable—resulting in some regions of Germany that first adopted the technology to abandon it shortly after. Metrolink may struggle to afford the fuel needed to run more frequent service. By prioritizing electrification, Metrolink can follow Caltrain’s success and not only deliver faster, more efficient train service for the region, but give struggling cities along the line a shot in the arm. Successfully electrifying the San Bernardino Line would give Metrolink a blueprint to extend the concept to the Antelope Valley and Orange County Lines, moving tens of thousands of people throughout the region every day without emitting a gram of greenhouse gasses. Both Metrolink and the greater Southland are sitting on a gold mine—all we need is the vision and political will to pick up a shovel. Stan Oklobdzija is an assistant professor at UC Riverside’s School of Public Policy where he researches housing and urban policy. ...read more read less