[1] As of 2022, the current rail line in the Coachella Valley is owned by the Union Pacific Railroad, as part of its Sunset Route between Los Angeles and Yuma, Arizona.

Passenger service connecting Riverside County with Los Angeles has existed since the opening of the Sunset Route.

Amtrak maintained this schedule, and by 1999 the only passenger rail station in the valley is located in a remote part of Palm Springs which is served at inconvenient hours.

[2] Funding for the current project headed by the Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC) initially came from the SunLine Transit Agency, with further support by federal grants, the California State Rail Assistance program, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).

[8] In December 2023, the Federal Railroad Administration accepted an application by Caltrans to enter the Coachella–Los Angeles route into its Corridor Identification and Development Program.