L.A. Metrolink receives funding to improve rail ahead of 2028 Olympics

State funding will provide $6.5 million for the transit service to make rail improvements before the Olympic Games in Los Angeles

Aug. 20, 2018

Metrolink was awarded $6.5 million this week in state funding to begin design, rail operations modeling and environmental assessment on a $10 billion plan to improve regional rail before for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

The funding from the California Transportation Commission is for the Southern California Optimized Rail Expansion (SCORE) program, and is the first down payment on an $856 million grant from the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) to provide grants from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and S.B. 1 to modernize the state’s transportation infrastructure. The TIRCP grant is the largest award ever allocated to Metrolink.

Metrolink said that among the benefits of the SCORE program are safety enhancements that allow more “quiet zones,” where horns are not routinely blown at rail crossings, and a rail electrification study to reduce diesel emissions. Of the $10 billion cost of SCORE, Metrolink said it has secured $1.5 billion.

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Source: Los Angeles Daily News