Connecting the rail designers, builders, and operators in Southern California FOR OVER 25 YEARS

The Railway Association of Southern California was formed in 1996 for the purpose of bringing together railroad professionals in the Southern California area, dedicated to promoting the diverse professions within the railroad industry and sponsoring fellowship among railroad professionals.

In the 25 years since incorporation, our membership has grown to over 300 individual members attending monthly events ranging from luncheons to seminars to site visits covering railway design, construction, and operation in Southern California.

RASC Annual Corporate Sponsors

The Railway Association would like to thank our 2024 corporate sponsors for their generous support of our programs and membership. Their contributions help fund future events and our annual scholarship program. For more information on how your firm can sponsor an event and the sign-up forms, click the “become a sponsor” button at the top of the page.

Gold Sponsor

GHD is proud to support the Railway Association of Southern California. Our Rail & Transit team focuses on attracting industry-best talent and continually investing in our people to create a world-class employee experience, enabling us to deliver the highest possible value to our clients and partners. This model of being a ”people company” ultimately enhances knowledge sharing across our global network of 160+ offices, providing our clients with best-in-class, integrated solutions. We offer a broad spectrum of technical experts and engineering disciplines to help sustainably expand rail and transit systems, supporting the objectives of our transportation clients throughout southern California.

Attendees of the 2023 Scholarship dinner including 4 of RASC’s 8 scholarship winners.
(Photo Credit: Eric Banghart, 2023)

2023 Scholarship Winners

4 of the 8 2023 RASC scholarship recipients (Left to right): Suwei Hu (UCI), Daniel Uyematsu (CPP), Makiese Samuel Kala (CPP), and Rudie Paraiso (UCLA).
(Photo Credit: Eric Banghart, 2023)

Michelle Stewart from Metrolink discusses Metrolink’s current and future fleet including how Metrolink intends to convert to zero emissions.
(Photo Credit: Alex Lewis, 2023)

Victor Lopez from SBCTA presents on the Stadler Zero-Emissions Multiple Unit slated to enter service on the Redlands - San Bernardino Arrow service in 2024.
(Photo Credit: Alex Lewis, 2023)

Jason Sanchez from BNSF discusses a 29-mile triple-track project between Needles and Goffs in the Mojave Desert.
(Photo Credit: Alex Lewis, 2023)

Attendees at RASC’s May event with BNSF at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Fullerton, CA.
(Photo Credit: Alex Lewis, 2023)

Students from the University of California, Los Angeles’s Institute of Transportation Engineers (UCLA-ITE) tour Metrolink’s Central Maintenance Facility. This event is the first of many coordinated through RASC’s College Program. (Photo Credit: Metrolink, February 2023)

Attendees of the first RASC college program event - a site visit to Metrolink’s Central Maintenance Facility in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo Credit: Metrolink, February 2023)

Students from UCLA-ITE ride a “deadhead” Metrolink move to the Central Maintenance Facility in Los Angeles, CA. (February 2023)

Students from UCLA-ITE tour Metrolink’s Central Maintenance Facility as part of RASC’s college program. (February 2023)

Metrolink CEO Darren Kettle presenting on Metrolink’s long-term vision at the inaugural RASC College Program site visit with UCLA-ITE. (February 2023)

LOSSAN Capital Programs director James Campbell discusses improvements on the Santa Barbara - San Luis Obispo section of the Pacific Surfliner Route. April 2022.

Patio seating at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Fullerton, CA. April 2022.

2022 RASC President Eric Banghart addresses attendees of the first in-person RASC event since March 2020 at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Fullerton, CA. April 2022.

RASC President Paul Wilson with the two Holiday Dinner speakers, Jennifer Bergner and Darrell Johnson from OCTA. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2019

2019 RASC Scholarship

Speaker Stephanie Wiggins of Metrolink and event sponsors.

2019 RASC Scholarship

Winners of 2019 RASC Scholarship

2011 Luncheon and Field Visit to Jeffrey Rd. Grade Separation in Irvine, CA

Past Events

For a sampling of our events, click through the gallery of past events through the years.

A BNSF freight train eases through Woodford, CA on Tehachapi Pass. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2023.

A Metrolink Antelope Valley line train on one of the many realignments built by Metrolink near Acton, CA. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2023.

A late-afternoon Surfliner at El Capitan Beach. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2020.

Amtrak’s Coast Starlight sails over the calm waters of the Santa Ynez River near Lompoc, CA. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2020.

Two BNSF trains heading towards Cajon Pass charge past a brand-new Stadler DMU on the east end of the railyard in San Bernardino, CA. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2022.

A Metrolink train arriving at Los Angeles Union Station passes an eastbound light rail train on the LAMTA “G” Line. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2023.

The first and last Metrolink F59PH-class locomotives stand idle in Metrolink’s Central Maintenance Facility, still running after 30 years and a midlife overhaul. (Alex Lewis, 2022)

A Union Pacific intermodal train prepares to head out onto the Metrolink Valley Subdivision at CP Ormiston, on the north side of Metrolink’s Central Maintenance Facility. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2023.

Metrolink, Amtrak, and BNSF trains meet at Fullerton, CA during the winter rains. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2022.

New Siemens SC-44 “Charger” locomotives for Coaster pass through San Juan Capistrano, CA. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2020.

Evening Amtrak trains waiting for departure at Los Angeles Union Station. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2022.

One of Metrolink’s Tier 4 locomotives crossing Mission Inn Drive in Riverside, CA. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2022.

A Union Pacific stack train climbing out of Caliente, CA. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2020.

An eastbound BNSF stack train waits for a clear signal at Fulleron, CA. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2022.

A northbound Surfliner crosses paths with a BNSF stack train at Fullerton, CA. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2022.

The view inside Arrow’s maintenance facility in San Bernardino, CA. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2022.

Two new F125 “Spirit” class locomotives at Los Angeles Union Station. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2020.

A BNSF train, led by a locomotive in the Santa Fe’s “Warbonnet” livery, crests Cajon Pass in the late afternoon. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2021.

An evening Surfliner prepares to depart Irvine, CA. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2022.

A BNSF manifest crossing Hinkley Road near Barstow, CA. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2020.

A southbound Amtrak departs Carpinteria, CA, at sunset. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2020.

An eastbound Metrolink San Bernardino Line train at sunset in Claremont, CA. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2019.

Looking east along Sprinter’s main line at Buena Creek Station in San Marcos, CA. Photo by Michael Boraks, 2012.

The Arizona & California Railroad’s Cadiz Turn crossing the Colorado River in Earp, CA. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2019

Peak hour at Fullerton, CA, on a damp November evening. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2019.

A 91 Line Metrolink train departs from Fullerton, CA, with a leased BNSF AC44 on the rear. Photo by Sergio Magallon, 2016.

A westbound Metrolink train crosses Indian Hill Avenue in Claremont, CA. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2019.

Installing panel track at a grade crossing near Vista, CA, on the Sprinter main line. Photo by Michael Boraks, 2005.

A busy spring evening on Cajon Pass as storm clouds roll in. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2020.

A Union Pacific manifest freight descending through the San Timoteo Canyon, near El Casco Lake, CA. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2020.

Two of Arrow’s new Stadler GTW 2/6 DMUs at the maintenance facility in San Bernardino, CA. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2022.

An afternoon Metrolink train to Oceanside departs San Juan Capistrano, CA. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2020.

A BNSF stack train crosses Caliente Creek near Ilmon, CA. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2020.

Amtrak’s northbound Coast Starlight glides through Casmalia, CA. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2020.

A BNSF train at Woodford, CA, on the Tehachapi Pass. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2020.

A Speedswing positions welded rail during construction on Sprinter. Photo by Michael Boraks, 2006.

Fullerton Station at Sunset, looking west. Photo by Sergio Magallon, 2016.

Metrolink trains between runs at Los Angeles Union Station. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2019.

A northbound Coaster passes through the universal crossover at CP Cardiff, installed as part of the San Elijo Lagoon double track. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2018

Late afternoon shadows fall across a BNSF manifest as it charges through the Tehachapi Wind Farms near Cameron, CA. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2020.

Main track rehabilitation on the Sprinter main line near San Marcos, CA. Photo by Mike Boraks, 2006

A westbound Metrolink San Bernardino Line train approaches Claremont, CA. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2019.

Built in 1876, the Tehachapi Pass Line was the first railroad into Southern California. To keep the incline to a steady 2.2% grade, the line makes multiple sweeping curves and crosses over itself halfway up the grade to Tehachapi, in Walong, CA. In this photo, a BNSF manifest freight navigates the loop, crossing over itself in the process. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2018.

An Arizona & California Railroad train approaches Rice, CA, south of the Turtle Mountain Wilderness in eastern San Bernardino County. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2019.

Hauled by a brace of Union Pacific locomotives, Herzog’s ballast maintenance train charges up the approach to Cajon Pass in Verdemont, CA. Photo by Alex Lewis, 2021.

Railroads of Southern California

A sampling of rail operators throughout Southern California, from urban light rail to heavy-haul freight. Our members work behind the scenes to keep these systems moving smoothly.