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SAN DIEGO - 02/11/06 - A rail link is reportedly being proposed that would move containerized and other cargo from Mexico northward along a 40-mile long corridor linking the Otay Mesa border crossing and Escondido.
 
The conceptual plan was put forward at the recent annual retreat of the San Diego Association of Governments (SDAG) - a regional planning and transportation agency - "in a bid to strengthen San Diego's ability to compete with California's metropolitan giants for billions in bond money," reports the San Diego Business Journal.

The international trade corridor would run north from the California-Mexico border, following Highways 125 and 67 through eastern San Diego County and then veer northwest toward Escondido.
 
The cost could easily soar into the $2 billion to $3 billion range, based on costs of new passenger rail lines in the county that have reached as high as $86 million per mile.
 
The 21-member SDAG board was divided over the plan, but took no vote.
 
The plan was drawn up by the agency's staff, in coordination with its transportation and goods movement committees, the paper reported.

"This freight line is extremely important because it would take trucks off of I-5 and I-15," Del Mar Councilman David Druker told the paper, while SDAG Transportation Committee Chairman Joe Kellejian of Solana Beach said the inland line would pull freight trains off the North County coast, freeing up busy tracks for more commuter and passenger trips.

But Encinitas Mayor Christy Guerin had nothing but questions about a proposal she termed "pretty wild and crazy" and far from precise.

"We don't even know the route, we don't even know the topography, we don't even know the price," she said.

The proposal surfaced in an afternoon discussion that focused on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's package of $68 billion in infrastructure bond measures, something he touted in last month's California State of the State address.
 
Between now and 2014, the measures would fund highways, schools, courts, water reservoirs, flood control systems and other projects.

The transportation component totals $12 million, and would be divided into two bonds. One could appear on the ballot in June or November; the other is targeted for 2008.

The transportation piece, as proposed, "would set aside $4 billion for transportation corridors designed to move to market those products coming into California as a result of international trade," the paper reported.

SDAG Executive Director Gary Gallegos told the paper it is "a foregone conclusion" that Los Angeles and San Francisco will compete vigorously and win large chunks of the potential $4 billion in transportation bonds, adding that San Diego County "needs to be careful to avoid being left behind."

By proposing a rail line that would boost the state's international trade, he said, "San Diego County would bolster its chances of getting a piece of the bond pie and strengthen its economy."

Gallegos stressed that the project offered environmental benefits, too, because 99% of Mexican products are shipped north by truck. He suggested much of that freight could be put on rail cars, reducing air pollution and congestion along the coast.

But Del Mar Mayor Crystal Crawford warned that the line could produce huge pollution and congestion in the communities the tracks would ribbon through.

Encinitas Councilman Jerome Stocks said it wouldn't make sense to build a line when area officials are struggling to find a way to lay down a second set of tracks along the coastal railroad.

But Druker said it would be better to steer the freight inland.

"Freight isn't interested in going up the coast," said Druker. "Freight is trying to get up to Ontario, which is a major hub for all of the United States in terms of traffic going east and west." 

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