Parked Rail Cars on Gold Line Right-of-Way Graffiti Magnets for Cities Including Duarte

With fewer goods moving across the country due to the economic slowdown, Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) has parked thousands of its unused rail cars along miles of railroad tracks. That has created a nuisance problem for cities including Duarte as the parked rail cars have become magnets for graffiti and vagrants.

Locally, BNSF has parked dozens of unused rail cars along a three mile stretch of Gold Line Right-of-Way track from Monrovia to Irwindale.

Under an agreement with Southern California Regional Rail Authority/Metrolink, which is responsible for right-of-way maintenance, BNSF has the right to use and park the cars there. According to SCRRA, once the cars are placed on the right-of-way they are likely not to be moved again until they are incorporated back into the active rolling stock of the nation-wide system.

“We’re starting to get a lot of phone calls of complaint from residents. Unfortunately, it’s a problem that we have not been able to readily solve since the City of Duarte has no jurisdiction over the rails or the rail cars, and has no authority to remove the graffiti. But the city is in discussion with BNSF to find a solution,” said Deputy City Manager, Karen Herrera.

Mayor John Fasana, who also serves on the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board, addressed the problem at the MTA’s May 28th board meeting. He passed out pictures of the graffiti covered railcars being stored on tracks in Duarte to illustrate the severity of the problem. Fasana requested that MTA Chief Executive Officer, Arthur T. Leahy report back to the board at its June 25th meeting on how many railcars are currently being stored on Metro controlled right-of-way and their locations; the number and locations of railcars being stored on non-Metro controlled right-of-way; and the measures that can be taken to immediately remove the graffiti.

In the meantime, residents can lodge complaints directly to BNSF by calling (909) 386-4140.