RASC members packed the room to max capacity at Mamma Mia on July 31 when Ross Lew, Transportation Director at RASC Sponsor Moffatt & Nichol introduced our speaker, Aaron Azevedo, Director, State of Good Repair at Metrolink, and his big claim to 2024 fame: the CMAA Project Achievement Award in Transportation for the Los Angeles Union Station Rail Yard Rehabilitation and Modernization Project. If you haven’t seen the time-lapse video, you can catch it on Metrolink’s TikTok here: MetrolinkTrains. If you haven’t heard Aaron speak about this, make sure you do. His explanation is inspiring, his delivery passionate. I still think he should do a voice over for this video.

Fresh off a family vacay and filling in for Justin Fornelli, Aaron thanked the crowd for showing up anyway. Ever the supportive soccer dad, he took this ball and ran with it. He gave an overview of Metrolink and their expansion of pulse scheduling to work on growing ridership, then dove into what we love best: Program Delivery.

Of course the Guru of SOGR brought up SCORE first. The $10 billion dollar vision has nearly a fourth of its funding secured and a clear plan of action. He gave us a nice overview of the design status and where that $2.4B is being spent, and the importance of the SCORE construction status as it smooths out operations of the system.

Aaron emphasized the goals for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics targeting half hour service across the system, and referenced how those Union Station upgrades fit into the overall system improvements.

He showed his techy-dad-commuter side when he described with enthusiasm the Bombardier cars overhaul: “with a charger at every seat!” And they’re easier to maintain, important for that squeezed rehab program budget. What’s that joke about how to eat an elephant?

Aaron jumped into upcoming procurements, including twelve construction projects and a lengthy backlog waiting on a revamped construction template. Keep your eyes on future Metrolink announcements. He rattled off seven new projects coming up for invitation to bid and five for RFP between now and January 2027. OCMF will be going out to the design bench, and the slope and embankment funding came through (check out the last time Aaron spoke with RASC in August 2024—impressive, Aaron! From idea to funding in a year!)

Special thanks to Aaron Azevedo of Metrolink for being our pinch-hitter. Thank you, J.P. Ziegler, for once again putting together a great program and lunch. And thank you to our attending RASC members, and our 2025 Platinum Sponsors, HDR and Moffatt & Nichol, our Gold Sponsors GHD, Olsson, and Zephyr Rail, and our Silver Sponsor EMI, whose participation makes our scholarship program not only possible, but robust!

RASC is committed to the education of the next generation of rail engineers, with the goal to provide scholarships for undergraduates interested in transportation. Funds raised from these luncheons support that initiative directly.

Join us! Sign up now to become a member of the Railway Association of Southern California (2025 RASC Membership) and be first in line for the next program.

Sponsor us! Help us grow our scholarship base. Sponsor a program by reaching out to J.P. Ziegler (jackson.ziegler@railpros.com) or become an annual corporate sponsor (RASC Sponsorship Levels).

July 2025 RASC Luncheon with Aaron Azevedo, Metrolink

June 2025 RASC Members Only Tour of the RCTC Moreno Valley/March Field Station Improvements