REGION : Alameda Rail Project Gets Priority Status

Los Angeles area officials seeking federal funding for the Alameda Corridor rail project won a minor victory last week when a Senate panel agreed to put a high priority on it.

The Alameda Corridor will speed up the transfer of rail lines running from the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports to train yards southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. Southeast business people have been optimistic that the sunken rail line will unclog street traffic often delayed by passing trains, thus boosting commerce.

In Washington, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved a highway bill with a provision that would give the $1.8-billion project a special designation as a “high priority corridor.”