The following excerpts appeared in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin on September 3, 2025. To read the full article (may require subscription), click here. To read Foothill Gold Line CEO Habib F. Balian’s response, click here.

San Bernardino County transportation agency votes down Montclair light-rail extension – Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

An artist rendering of the Montclair A Line (Gold) Station planned for the Montclair Transit Center. The San Bernardino County Transportation Authority’s Board of Directors voted to not fund their 0.65 miles of extension and instead use the funding set aside for the project in other ways. (Image courtesy of the Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority).

By Beau Yarbrough

September 3, 2025

[excerpts]:

At a meeting Wednesday, Sept. 3, the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority Board of Directors voted 15-11 to defund the agency’s portion of the planned extension of the A Line (previously known as the Gold Line) from Pomona to Montclair, citing concerns about increasing costs and limited input into decisions related to the project.

…

The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority, the agency supervising the A Line extension, meanwhile, is not giving up on one day completing the project.

“While it is not the end of the line for the Gold Line to reach Montclair, today’s vote was a significant setback,” Construction Authority CEO Habib F. Balian said in a written statement released after the SBCTA vote. “It results in the Montclair extension not moving forward simultaneously with the Claremont portion of the final project segment. In the coming weeks, the Construction Authority staff and board will discuss next steps.”

In the works since 2004, the A Line extension from Pomona to Montclair would have removed an estimated 15,000 car trips off the roads each day, moving commuters between the Inland Empire and Los Angeles off the the 210, 10 and 60 freeways.

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According to an economic impact report created on behalf of the Construction Authority, extending the A Line to San Bernardino County would have meant 580 construction jobs and generated $1.7 million in tax revenue in San Bernardino County. Once open, according to the authority, the line would have cost a little over $5.3 million to operate each year, but would have generated $18.6 million a year in economic activity.

To read the full article (may require subscription), click here. To read Foothill Gold Line CEO Habib F. Balian’s response, click here.