Award: Regional commuter rail station upgrade
Value: $24 million
Location: Perris, California
Client: Riverside County Transportation Commission
Granite Construction is on track to build out a key component of Southern California’s Metrolink regional commuter rail system with an upgrade at an end-of-the-line station.
Watsonville, California-based Granite won a $24 million contract to transform the Perris South Metrolink Station and Layover Facility project, according to a Dec. 9 news release.
The project’s goal is to improve service reliability and address rising commuter demand at the terminus of Metrolink’s State Route 91/Perris Valley Line in Riverside County east of Los Angeles. Project funding comes from a combination of local and state sources, including California’s Measure A sales tax and a $25 million state Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program grant.
Originally opened in 2016, the 24-mile line connects Perris to Downtown Riverside and from there, to jobs in Los Angeles. It was built to relieve traffic on Interstate 215 and improve transit options for Southwestern Riverside County residents, who have some of the longest commutes in Southern California, according to the Riverside County Transportation Commission.
Ridership on the line surged by 22% year-over-year to an average of 2,098 weekday riders in 2024, according to a Metrolink fact sheet, putting it among the five fastest growing routes in the 547-mile system.
The Perris South station currently runs as a single-track terminus, which limits train movement and creates service bottlenecks. Granite’s scope is to convert the end point into a high-capacity, flexible hub to support bidirectional peak service.
Key aspects include:
- A second passenger boarding platform and more than 1,100 feet of new track to allow two trains to load and unload simultaneously while maintaining operations when a single train is out of service.
- Lengthening the existing platform to accommodate eight-car Metrolink trains and upgraded canopies, electronic displays and emergency phones.
- A new at-grade crossing with active warning gates and flashing lights for safe pedestrian access to the second platform.
- An additional fourth layover track and new switching infrastructure, allowing more trains to be stored overnight and improving operational flexibility.
The project helps Granite, a company with a core focus on roadbuilding, expand its reach in the rail end market, as well as projects in the Inland Empire region, according to the release. The company opened a new office in Ontario, California, last year and recently completed Metrolink’s Moreno Valley/March Field station expansion 13 miles away, a project it was awarded in 2022 for $22 million.
“This project builds on our successful partnership with RCTC and Metrolink and leverages Granite’s core strengths in heavy civil construction and rail,” Bill Moore, Granite’s vice president of regional operations, said in the release.
Construction on the Perris South project is expected to begin early next year, with completion slated for 2028
