Orange County Congressman Gary Miller Sends Letter To Mayor of Placentia Supporting The City with the Only "Quite Zone" in the country and OnTrac with the "Only Homeland Security Study on the Rail System"

The world spotlight has shifted to Orange County, specifically the City of Placentia this week following the rail bombings in Spain that injured 1,500 people and left 200 dead. Mayor Judy A. Dickinson, City of Placentia read aloud a letter from Congressman Gary Miller, who is a big supporter of the Orange North-American Trade Rail Access Corridor (OnTrac) Joint Powers Authority.

OnTrac has released the nation’s only Homeland Security Study and potential threats to the rail system, and it has since peaked the interest of International media and now the House Select Committee on Homeland Security.

“People throughout the United States and the World count on shipping freight to and receiving freight from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach via the transcontinental railway,” said 42nd District Congressman Gary G. Miller of Orange County in his letter to Placentia. “I applaud your continued effort to help implement a timely and cost-effective completion of this important endeavor.”

Congressman Miller also said “The economically vital artery, which runs directly through Placentia, is responsible for $250 billion in trade. More than 50 trains per day travel through the Orangethorpe rail corridor, with rail traffic expected to increase to 135 per day by the year 2020.”

The increased rail traffic has placed a strain on many of the Placentia’s neighborhoods. “Some of these effects include delays in road traffic caused by train crossings, increased noise, air pollution and delays in emergency-response time,” said Congressman Miller.

“For these reasons I believe it is imperative that we continue working together to provide OnTrac with the resources necessary to complete the construction of the Orangethorpe Avenue Grade Separation and Trade Corridor project – a five-mile long railroad-lowering project that will completely grade separate 11 rail crossings in the cities of Placentia and Anaheim, CA.”

The congressman also noted that the improvements will accommodate increased rail movements and the railroad lowering allows passenger and business traffic to flow unobstructed at street-level.

“I have requested federal funding in the reauthorization of TEA 21 for the construction of this critical project,” said Miller. “This legislation is scheduled to be considered by the U.S. House of Representatives in the coming weeks. I appreciate your continued involvement and support in enhancing Placentia’s transportation network.”

“Southern California has become the nation's primary gateway for two-way international trade,” said Executive Director Christopher Becker of Orange North-American Trade Rail Access Corridor (OnTrac) Joint Powers Authority. “The recent terrorist bombing of Spain’s busy rail system has created a renewed interest in Washington DC and regionally to beef up funding and security of our own transportation system.”

“The Alameda Corridor East rail lines moved about $116 billion in goods based on the manufacturer’s value in 2000,” said Becker. “The street value was much higher for these products. The street values of rail cargo traveling on the Alameda Corridor East in 2000 were $166 billion.”

Becker, who testified last year at the Congressional Railroad Committee Hearings believes Washington should provide more flexible funding for environmentally beneficial rail projects, and significantly more funding for mega projects and grade crossing programs like Alameda Corridor East.

"The threat of terrorism is real on strategic rail corridors with passenger and freight rail service and we believe that Al Qaeda's apparent interest in rail attacks should be a call to action,” said Counterterrorism Expert Elsa Lee, CEO Advantage SCI, Redondo Beach, CA, who contributed to a-one-of-a-kind Homeland Security report released last fall on the anniversary of 9-11.

A copy of the report “OnTrac Trade Impact Study: National Economic Significance of Rail Capacity and Homeland Security on the Alameda Corridor East (MayoCommunications.com or LAEDC.org ) was sent to the ranking members of the House Select Committee On Homeland Security Friday (3-12-04)