ICC Ruling Casts Fiscal Cloud Over Cal Train’s Future

The federal Interstate Commerce Commission has ruled that Southern Pacific Railroad can determine how much the state must pay for past and future operations of CalTrain, the Oxnard-to-Los Angeles commuter service that operated for 4 1/2 months ending in 1983.

The ruling could sound the death knell of efforts to revive CalTrain because Southern Pacific’s price for providing the commuter service has been described as prohibitively high by state officials.

The commission, in a decision released Monday, ruled 5 to 2 that the railroad has the right to set a tariff, the rate that the company charges for moving freight--or in CalTrain’s case, commuters--from one point to another.

The state Department of Transportation and the Public Utilities Commission had argued that the state had the right to set fees for the operation of the commuter train.

Order Is ‘a Victory’

“We consider the order a victory for Southern Pacific,” said Jim Loveland, a railroad spokesman. Officials at the state agencies involved withheld comment until the ICC decision could be reviewed.

CalTrain ended operations in March, 1983, when the state and Southern Pacific found they could not agree on how much compensation the railroad should receive for the commuter service.

The service, which had stops in Moorpark, Simi Valley, Van Nuys, Burbank and Glendale, never became popular with commuters. About 300 riders used the service each day, in contrast to the 2,000-per-day estimate made by the state.

The ruling could end recent efforts by the state transportation department and several local governments along the CalTrain route to revive the service.

Tariff Sought

Southern Pacific maintained throughout its battle with state agencies that the state should pay a tariff of $588,000 a month, enough to reimburse the company for CalTrain’s use of tracks and equipment and to provide a “reasonable” profit.

In 1983, state officials said the amount should be about $70,000 a month. Recently, state and local officials have said that CalTrain could be restarted if its costs were kept near $100,000 a month.

If so, state and local officials agreed, then it would be practical to expect that 40% of the monthly costs could be covered by fare receipts as required by state law. The remaining 60% would be shared equally by contributions from the state and local governments along the route.

However, if Southern Pacific is allowed to charge a tariff of $588,000 a month, “then everybody is going to walk away” because that amount would be too high to pay, a transportation department official said last week.

Train’s Loss Would Hurt

If CalTrain is not revived, it would be a blow to local governments along the service route. Simi Valley officials, for example, have sought a resumption of CalTrain to provide an alternative for thousands of local commuters stuck in rush-hour traffic on the Simi Valley Freeway.

About 70% of Simi Valley’s work force is employed in the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles, and 50% of the riders during CalTrain’s 1983 service lived in Simi Valley, said Mike Sedell, assistant city manager.

The ICC decision allows the Southern Pacific to proceed with a lawsuit the railroad filed in Los Angeles Superior Court seeking recovery of costs for the short-lived commuter service, Loveland said. In the suit, the railroad asks for compensation of $588,000 a month.