Senate subcommittee presses rail agencies for service, funding and resilience ahead of World Cup and 2028 Olympics

The California State Senate Subcommittee on Losan Rail Corridor Resiliency convened an informational hearing at Los Angeles Union Station to review plans for increasing rail capacity, improving reliability and addressing coastal geohazards ahead of the FIFA World Cup (2026), the Super Bowl (2027) and the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Chair Senator Blake Spear opened the hearing and said the corridor must be "functional, competitive, reliable" and urged state-level responsibility to ensure passenger service between San Diego and Los Angeles. "These two cities deserve to have functional, competitive, reliable train travel between them," she said.

Why this matters: the corridor is a primary regional passenger rail route linking Southern California cities and will be critical to move millions of visitors and residents during three back-to-back mega-events. Witnesses described both near-term operational steps and longer-term investments needed to expand seats, reduce delays from freight conflicts and harden the line against storms, landslides and seismic damage.

Major capacity and fleet proposals - Chad Edison, chief deputy secretary of rail and transit at the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA), told the subcommittee the state is "actively pursuing service expansion for the LA28 Olympics" and is targeting about a 40% increase in total seats on the state's inner-city rail fleet between now and 2028. He outlined three components: delivery of zero-emission train sets (hydrogen fuel-cell trains), leasing legacy equipment (including from Caltrain) and revitalizing the state's bilevel passenger cars. - Edison said the state currently has 10 hydrogen fuel-cell train sets on order (each with more than 200 seats) with deliveries beginning late 2027 and options for 19 more, and that the first demonstration hydrogen trainset has completed testing and demonstration runs in Southern California and elsewhere. - Officials said increasing frequencies will also depend on freight-host agreements; speakers cited contractual slot limits on the corridor (up to 16 daily Amtrak/inner-city trains between Los Angeles and San Diego; up to seven to Santa Barbara, with five currently used).

Reliability, safety and operational coordination - Executive Director Paul Krekorian (Office of Major Events, City of Los Angeles) and transit representatives emphasized that reliability, not just capacity, is essential to attract riders. Krekorian described the Games Mobility Executives, a cross-jurisdictional planning consortium working on station upgrades, service coordination and passenger connections. - Multiple witnesses stressed the importance of operational recovery: better maintenance availability, increased fleet overhaul and surge planning for supplemental bus fleets and station-level crowd management. "We need more than infrastructure; it's about the service—supplemental buses, staffing and operations," Krekorian said. - Public safety and system cleanliness were raised repeatedly as rider concerns. Louie Costa of Smart Transportation told the committee that "safety is really the biggest concern for the operators," and witnesses said ambassador programs and staff presence influence riders' sense of safety and actual safety.

Technology choices and electrification debate - The hearing included an explicit discussion of hydrogen fuel-cell trains versus electrification. Edison described the hydrogen train contract and demonstration program and said hydrogen sets are being built and will begin delivery. A public commenter from Streets for All urged prioritizing electrification, arguing that "hydrogen operationally is very, very challenging" and that overhead electrification is the more tested, efficient approach. - UCLA and other technical witnesses noted electrification can yield operational benefits but also requires upfront infrastructure and coordination with freight and station projects; no decision was prescribed by the subcommittee.

Climate and geohazard risks - Jennifer Gress, division chief at the California Air Resources Board (CARB), tied investments in passenger rail to statewide vehicle miles traveled (VMT) reduction and air-quality goals: "We can't meet our climate and air quality goals without meaningful reductions in VMT," she said. - Jonathan Stewart, a UCLA civil and environmental engineer, briefed the subcommittee on coastal landslides, liquefaction and fault rupture risks along the corridor. He recommended regional hazard mapping, instrumentation (inclinometers, accelerometers) and prioritized mitigation to allow early warning or rapid inspection following storms or earthquakes.

Funding, governance and policy issues - Frank Jimenez of the Legislative Analyst's Office summarized funding for state-supported intercity routes: the State Support Intercity Rail Program provides about $131 million annually (with a multi-year augmentation in 2024-25), and the State Rail Assistance program provided an estimated $60 million in 2024-25. He told the committee ridership and fare revenues remain below pre-pandemic levels, creating ongoing fiscal pressure. - Michael Pimentel of the California Transit Association warned that proposed changes to the state's cap-and-invest (GGRF) spending plan could reduce funds agencies currently rely on for operations and projects. He urged preserving recent emergency relief and long-term GGRF commitments to transit and rail. - Several witnesses and public commenters urged stronger corridor-level governance and a dedicated funding source for the Losan corridor. UCLA's Jacob Wasserman recommended better regional coordination or a "network manager" model to align fares, scheduling, marketing and joint planning across multiple operators.

Public comment and local perspectives - Public commenters and local officials asked the subcommittee to prioritize electrification, double-tracking problem segments, and dedicated corridor funding. Riley O'Brien (urban planner) urged planning Del Mar and other projects to accommodate overhead electrification and faster double-tracking between Laguna Niguel, San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente. - Pico Rivera Director Javier Hernandez described local land-use plans to concentrate housing and transit-oriented development around the corridor and asked for coordination and funding to make stations and connecting bus rapid transit effective.

What the subcommittee asked agencies to do next - Chair Senator Blake Spear and members asked CalSTA, regional operators and local agencies for clearer, itemized funding requests and timelines for supplemental bus operations, surge fleet needs and targeted infrastructure deliveries ahead of 2026 and 2028 events. Several senators pressed for specific cost estimates that the legislature could evaluate for possible state support.

Bottom line: hearing identified a multi-pronged pathway to increase capacity and resilience on the Losan corridor—fleet expansion, targeted infrastructure, hazard mitigation and passenger-facing service improvements—but also exposed unresolved choices (hydrogen vs. electrification), governance gaps and fiscal shortfalls. Agencies were asked to return with more specific, costed requests and timelines for the subcommittee's consideration.

Sources and evidence: opening remarks, technical panels, LAO fiscal summary, CARB remarks, geohazard briefing and public comments from the June hearing at Los Angeles Union Station (transcript excerpts recorded in the legislative hearing record).