What does a rail storage yard three miles south of downtown LA have to do with a more modern Union Station?

The Metro Board of Directors advanced a plan to modernize Union Station last week without finding a resolution to a dispute that could complicate the project, known as Link US, in the future.

The sticking point lies 3 miles south of Union Station, at a private rail storage yard in the city of Vernon.

Metro’s current plan involves expanding that storage yard to make up for the loss of space at a different yard near the station. Both yards are owned by freight giant BNSF.

It’s a proposal that has incensed Vernon leaders and business owners who, despite Metro’s assurances to the contrary, believe the expansion of the rail yard in their city will worsen already-congested streets, increase pollution and jeopardize emergency response times.

Vernon leadership had asked Metro to remove the storage mitigation plan from an environmental impact report. Metro’s board approved the final report on Thursday with the storage mitigation plan in place, but nudged agency staff to continue working on a solution with the city of Vernon and BNSF.

Metro said in a statement that it will “be convening additional discussions with BNSF and the City of Vernon to explore alternative approaches” but that it’s not “reconsidering the entire mitigation proposal.”

Brian Saeki, the city administrator for Vernon, said the city supports Link US and is open to finding a solution to the issue of rail storage that all parties can agree on, including brokering an agreement with BNSF to minimize disruptions from the proposed expansion.

At the same time, the city is also exploring potential legal challenges to Metro’s decision, Saeki said.

What is Link US?

Currently, trains can only enter and exit from the north side of Union Station, which means they have to reverse the same way they pull in to get back on their route. In train-speak, this kind of track is known as a “stub-end” track. It’s similar to when you drive on a dead-end street and need to turn around to get back on the main road.

The solution Metro came up with is Link US. It involves converting the stub-end tracks into run-through tracks that continue south of the station over the 101 Freeway and meet existing rail along the L.A. River.

Metro said in a recent report to its board that the project could reduce the idling time for Amtrak and Metrolink trains by 30 minutes, ensure schedule reliability and improve the station’s capacity. It’s also a critical upgrade to prepare the historic downtown L.A. station to service high-speed rail.

To make room for the run-through tracks, Metro needs to acquire 5,500 feet of existing track near Union Station and along the L.A. River. The land is currently used by BNSF to store empty rail cars.

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Courtesy LA Metro

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The problem of rail storage

To make room for the run-through tracks, Metro needs to acquire 5,500 feet of existing track near Union Station and along the L.A. River. The land is currently used by BNSF to store empty rail cars.

Initially, Metro offered to buy the land from BNSF, but the company refused to sell it. So the agency proposed a plan to replace the lost space instead.

Based on its evaluation of six potential sites, Metro, collaboratively with BNSF, concluded that expanding the Malabar Yard in the city of Vernon is the best place to mitigate the loss, replacing around 3,400 feet of freight storage.

Expanding the Malabar Yard, which is also owned and used by BNSF, involves closing a small stretch of 49th Street and diverting local freight traffic along 1,000 feet of new tracks on 46th Street.

The Malabar Yard mitigation plan is meant to make up for rail storage space that BNSF is going to lose at a different yard it owns on the west bank of the LA River.

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Courtesy LA Metro

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Metro said it engaged with Vernon executive staff and businesses, as well as elected L.A. city and county officials, through dozens of meetings over the course of the year before the proposal made its way to the board for final approval.

Based on feedback from those meetings, the agency proposed nearly $25 million in mobility improvements in Vernon, including new crosswalks, train detection cameras and more.

Disagreements over potential impacts

Metro’s evaluation of its mitigation proposal determined the plan would reduce total daily train traffic in Vernon.

“That would mean decreased local emissions, minimized traffic delays due to those trains,” Ray Sosa, chief planning officer, said at Metro’s Board meeting Thursday. “The design would result in a 5-minute improvement for emergency response.”

In an email to LAist, Lena Kent, the general director of public affairs for BNSF, reiterated the community benefits Metro outlined.

A letter a lawyer for Vernon sent to Metro last week said consultants hired by the city came to opposite conclusions and claimed the agency’s evaluation is inadequate and based on flawed data.

Metro said in its statement that while it “values Vernon’s input,” it stands by the “adequacy of the certified environmental review.”

BNSF uses the Malabar Yard to store freight rail cars.

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Courtesy MVE + Partners

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Metro’s proposal could also present operational concerns for the city’s business community, Saeki said.

“ There's not a whole lot of streets that travel east/west, so by just randomly closing 49th … it's also going to have consequences to those businesses in and around that area,” Saeki said.

Mike Melideo owns a business that processes and sells large steel coils near the proposed street closure. Several trucks come and go from the plant every day, he said. If 49th Street is closed, Melideo said the trucks would have to line up on Santa Fe Avenue, potentially clogging up the perpendicular north/south street.

L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who represents Vernon,  said the city depends on open circulation and the reliable delivery of goods.

“They are pure industry, pure business,” she said. “That is a huge part of their economy.”

While Vernon only has 200 residents, there are more than 1,800 businesses located there employing 50,000 people.

So, what now?

The city of Vernon ultimately holds the permits and approvals Metro needs to follow through with its mitigation plan. At this point in time, city officials say they're unlikely to grant those approvals.

Saeki told LAist that the Vernon City Council will be meeting on Nov. 4 in closed session to discuss next steps.

There is time to resolve the disagreement, though, as Link US is still only in its early stages.

Along with approving the final environmental documents Thursday, the board passed a motion encouraging Metro to continue working with BNSF and the city of Vernon to find an alternative mitigation site, or to come to an operating agreement in which the freight company commits to limiting rail operations and minimizing the length of train cars to avoid prolonged disruptions.

But getting all parties back to the table might be tough. According to Hahn, BNSF only attended one of the meetings about the yard expansion hosted by Metro and was “ dismissive of the city's concerns.”

For Link US, the next stop is the board of California High-Speed Rail, which is the source of half of the $950 million in project funding that Metro has so far secured from state and regional partners. The high-speed rail board will also need to approve environmental documents.