Perris Valley Commuter Rail

With its first rapid transit extension in 20 years, Southern California’s Metrolink now connects downtown Perris to downtown Riverside along I-215. Local and federal governments, the business community and county residents have been working together for more than a decade to reach an agreement for the expansion. The biggest holdup to project approval was concern for the environmentally sensitive areas within the project site, including habitat for several species of endangered birds and Native American cultural resources. To ensure protection of these natural assets, RSA field crews maintained extensive communication and coordination with the projects special inspectors, and received valuable support from the RSA environmental group.

Construction of this mass transit project included double-tracking approximately 24 miles of new and upgraded track, building four new stations and parking areas, improving 17 rail crossings, installing infrastructure, ballast, drainage and communications systems. The project scope also included grading and rock excavation, concrete structures, and installation of two railroad bridges for the single rail track alignment.

The completed extension is part of the Metrolinks Positive Train Control system, which provides state-of-the-art safety protection to avoid train collisions.