A San Gabriel Valley assemblyman wants to form a separate construction agency to build the Gold Line light-rail train to Ontario International Airport.

Assemblyman Chris Holden, D-Pasadena, introduced a bill this week that would create the West San Bernardino County Rail Construction Authority to design and build a 6-mile extension of the popular passenger train from Montclair to Ontario airport.

The bill is patterned after one in 1999 by then-state Sen. Adam Schiff. Schiff’s Senate Bill 1847 created the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority, taking it out of the hands of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Now-Rep. Schiff, who recently led the House of Representatives in the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, is known in the San Gabriel Valley as the “Father of the Gold Line” for acting when the project was being delayed. Holden said he’s patterning his bill after Schiff’s. The authority finished the line to Pasadena in 2003, then to Azusa in 2016. A third leg is under construction by the authority that will extend the train to Pomona by 2025.

Plans ran into a snag last year when rising costs prevented construction of the line to Claremont and into Montclair in San Bernardino County. That final portion remains uncertain, as Metro, the authority and lawmakers search for gap funding of about $550 million.

“This bill would be a carve-out of the project from the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority,” Holden said Thursday, Jan. 30.

The San Bernardino County authority is looking into alternatives to building the Gold Line into San Bernardino County. One proposal is to start with cleaner diesel trains then switch to zero-emission trains called ZEMUs. The concept is proposed for the Redlands to San Bernardino line under construction.

Holden said the authority’s proposal would move passengers on a new Metrolink service from Pomona to Rancho Cucamonga, and possibly to Ontario airport. This plan would deny Claremont and Montclair the Gold Line light-rail they were promised, he said. His bill would honor that commitment, he added.

“My concern is similar to what the concern was when Metro was downplaying the Gold Line, which was the Blue Line then,” Holden said. “It kept getting dropped down on the priority list.”

He said the San Bernardino County authority has many other priorities and his bill will place the project atop the list.

“This will give it focus to move beyond just talking and say at some point in the future there will be rail from Los Angeles County to Ontario International Airport,” Holden said.

The San Bernardino County authority and Holden have discussed the idea of a separate rail construction authority for the airport light-rail link since December. But the agency on Thursday said the proposal is a non-starter.

“I, along with a few select members of our Board, shared our opinion that the creation of a new construction authority is unnecessary to successfully plan and construct the desired passenger rail connection to Ontario International Airport in San Bernardino County,” wrote Darcy McNaboe, San Bernardino County authority’s board president.

“From our perspective this new entity would make the desired transit project more costly and serve to increase the time for project delivery,” McNaboe said in an emailed response.

Holden said he would like to continue talking to the authority and could amend his legislation to allow the agency to take on the Ontario Airport project, but wanted to ensure that would include going through Claremont and Montclair.

“This is a start of a conversation around a rail project with tremendous regional value, both for San Bernardino County and Los Angeles County as well,” he said.

McNaboe disagreed, saying Holden’s bill is not beneficial to the Inland Empire.

“Instead of creating a new government entity focused on constructing a project that primarily benefits Los Angeles County at the expense of San Bernardino County, we encourage the Assembly member to collaborate with SBCTA to address the issue of airport connectivity in a more meaningful and realistic way.”

The bill and other transportation issues will be discussed at a hearing put on by Holden on Friday, Jan. 31, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Ontario City Hall, 303 E. “B” St., Ontario.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify details about a Gold Line extension alternative proposed by the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority.