Gypsy Jan
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Rebuilding historic U.S.-Mexico rail link
From The San Diego Union Tribune
By Sandra Dibble
"Advocates of cross-border freight train service are cautiously applauding moves by groups of U.S. and Mexican investors to rebuild two key rail links
that connect Tijuana and Imperial County.
The projects are being formed separately, and it could be several years before any trains ferry product parts and finished goods from Tijuana's
maquiladora industry into the United States. But proponents said that taken together, the efforts could restore a significant link to the main U.S.
rail system.
The rail service would allow exporters from Mexico to avoid northbound truck delays at the congested Otay Mesa commercial crossing, as well as the
need to switch drivers at the international border.
Preliminary estimates show that the two companies embarking on the rehabilitation plans could spend upward of $120 million.
The current situation "is very inefficient, it's expensive, it just takes away from the competitiveness of the region," said Joe Da Rosa, president of
Toyota Manufacturing de Baja California, which assembles Tacoma pickups at a plant outside Tecate and then sends them by truck to the United States.
The rail lines would also be valuable for importing components from the U.S. into Tijuana for the maquiladoras or other businesses, he said.
Built in 1919 by sugar magnate John Spreckels, the track created a rail linkage from San Diego to the east, dipping into Mexico before re-entering the
United States at Campo and finally reaching Plaster City in Imperial County. Fires, floods and collapsed bridges and tunnels led to closure of the
70-mile stretch between Campo and Plaster City, known as the Desert Line, in recent decades.
The last operator, Lakeside-based Carrizo Gorge Railway, was able to re-establish limited service in 2004. Those operations stopped in 2008 after the
San Diego Metropolitan Transit System, which owns the Desert Line, raised concerns about its safety and demanded repairs that Carrizo Gorge could not
afford.
While economic difficulties, lawsuits by past investors and legal battles among Carrizo's shareholders have stalled efforts to resume service on the
Desert Line, groups on both sides of the border continue to see the rail link as offering much promise for the greater region.
"It is one of the emblematic projects that we're promoting," said David Moreno, director of the Tijuana Economic Development Council. "We are certain
that if we start rebuilding the line, companies would increase their investments."
Christina Luhn, director of the Mega-Region Initiative for the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp., said she is "guardedly optimistic" about
the latest attempts to reopen the rail lines. "It's not a done deal, but it's the best news I've heard since I learned about the rail issues," she
added.
In Tijuana this month, directors of Baja California Railroad Inc. announced a plan to invest $20 million in rebuilding a section of the 44.4-mile line
between Tijuana and Tecate.
Dimas Campos, owner of a group of gas stations in Tijuana and managing director of Baja California Railroad, said the sum would be used for "profound
rehabilitation" of a 12.5-mile stretch of tracks between San Ysidro and El Florido in eastern Tijuana. The project is scheduled to start in May.
"We know the business is there, we've already sat down with a lot of companies. They are committed to coming on board and moving (products) by rail,
but obviously they're going to wait until the track is rehabbed completely," said Alejandro de la Torre, a partner in the Mexican project.
The company was granted a 30-year contract to operate the line by the Baja California agency Admicarga. Jorge Monraz, director of Admicarga, said the
line is owned by Mexico's federal government and that the agreement was approved by the federal Communications and Transportation Secretariat. He said
the contract, which was not publicly available, obligates Baja California Railroad to invest the $20 million for repairs and upgrades during the first
five years.
No matter what happens in Baja California, cross-border service into California can't be re-established until the Desert Line can also be opened.
In December, MTS and Pacific Imperial Railroad Inc. signed a 50-year-lease - with an option to renew for 49 more years - for the company to
rehabilitate that track.
"The deal has very tight strings associated with it," said Paul Jablonski, chief executive of MTS. "It wasn't just, 'We'll see you in 100 years.' We
have very specific milestones associated with this, and if they don't achieve them, we'll take it back."
Donald Stoecklein, a San Diego attorney who is the president and legal representative for Pacific Imperial Railroad, outlined the proposal during a
meeting with the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce's Mexico Business Center this month.
"The primary goal is to move product out of the maquiladora region," Stoecklein said.
His company is working with investment bankers to secure financing and has hired a contractor to calculate the expense of fixing the line, he said.
"We have 57 bridges and tunnels that we have to fix," Stoecklein said. "We needed 99 years so that our investors could get a return."
Charles McHaffie, former CEO of Carrizo Gorge Railway, is a main player in the new Desert Line venture. This has not sat well with some of his former
associates who continue to battle him in court and oppose the new lease.
Jablonski defended the contract's "very strict performance guidelines," which require the trains to achieve a "minimal level of service" within the
next 14 months and full service - four to five trains daily in each direction - within five years.
McHaffie "seems to be a fair way along in the process of securing the necessary investment to actually carry this out," Jablonski said.
Informal estimates put the cost of repairs at close to $100 million, according to MTS. Toyota's Da Rosa, whose company would be an important client of
any future railway service in that area, called the agreement "a big step."
"Previously, it wasn't clear who really had control of the line, and now it's clear. We have a group on the U.S. side that now has clear
responsibility," he added. "I have a group of about 10 large companies in this region that I meet with frequently. They would use the rail line the
moment it becomes operational."
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.”
—Mark Twain
\"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada.” (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
—Kirsty MacColl, Mambo de la Luna
\"Alea iacta est.\"
—Julius Caesar
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MexicoTed
Senior Nomad
Posts: 708
Registered: 8-2-2004
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Maybe 12-15 years ago I had the chance to ride the train from San Ysidro to Tecate. It was a special occasion for tourism officials,etc.. We actually
got on the train in San Ysidro, moved about 200 feet, then they opened the gates on the tracks to the border. Then we all got off the train on the
Mexican side, showed our passports, and were on our way. Quite a trip.
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JohnMcfrog
Nomad
Posts: 156
Registered: 8-1-2012
Location: San Diego, Punta Abreojos
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I have ridden my mountain bike from the top of the Laguna scarp (by the nudist colony) down past the Goat Canyon trestle, one of the largest wooden
trestles in the US. I have ridden the trestle a few times, but usually just walk my bike of late. There is a lone cable off over the abyss and the
metal grate allows you to see down the 185 feet to Carrizo Gorge.
Riding thru the tunnels with a headlamp is very cool. The dust comes up and the particles reflect the light. It feels like you are on another planet.
There is rockfall in many of the tunnels and maintaining this line has always been problematic. My favorite book on the subject is "San Diego and
Arizona Railway-The Impossible Railroad" by Reena Deutsch.
My father said that I went from Yuma on the railway when he was coming back from being a b25 pilot in WW2. I was a little over a year old, so don't
remember that trip.
[Edited on 2-14-2013 by JohnMcfrog]
[Edited on 2-14-2013 by JohnMcfrog]
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64859
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Thanks John! Nice pictures on the historic railroad line.
There are some who believe the dust bubbles in nighttime photos are spirits we don't see otherwise! 
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Barry A.
Select Nomad
Posts: 10007
Registered: 11-30-2003
Location: Redding, Northern CA
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Mood: optimistic
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Wth some logistics with vehicles, the hike from the top of the escarpment to the bottem down the Carrizo Gorge along the rails is a great day-trip.
We have done it 3 times, and it was always rewarding.
Barry
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