Federal Funding Boost for Perris Rail Service to be Announced Monday

RIVERSIDE - Federal transportation officials, members of Congress and local representatives are slated to turn out Monday to announce a significant financial infusion for a project that will bring commuter rail service to Moreno Valley and Perris.

Deputy Federal Transit Administrator Therese McMillan is scheduled to conduct a 10:30 a.m. briefing detailing the multi-million-dollar commitment toward the Perris Valley Line, which has been in the works since 2007.

The $247-million project is currently under-funded by more than $100 million, according to the Riverside County Transportation Commission, the lead agency behind the line.

Rep. Mark Takano, D-Riverside, has been a leading advocate for completion of the project since his election a year ago. He, along with Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, Riverside County Supervisor Marion Ashley, Perris Mayor Daryl Busch and transportation commission chair Karen Spiegel will join McMillan for the announcement, which will take place at the Perris Transit Station at South C Street and San Jacinto Avenue, according to Takano's office.

Officials were tight-lipped about the exact size of the federal appropriation.

Work on the Perris Valley Line is expected to begin this month. Once fully operational, the line will extend 24 miles, providing Metrolink commuter rail service along Interstate 215, from Hunter Park in Riverside to south Perris. There will be three stops -- near March Reserve Base in Moreno Valley, downtown Perris and South Perris.

According to the Riverside County Transportation Commission, ridership will average 4,350 people per day, reducing vehicular traffic on the often- congested 60 and 215 freeways.

The project was temporarily derailed by an environmental lawsuit last year, but has since gotten the green light.