Found while searching for the literary fad of 1909: “Officials of the Pasadena Rapid Transit Company announce they are meeting with success in their project to build a high speed railway from Pasadena to the heart of Los Angeles…[The train] will cover the distance from Los Angeles to Pasadena in 12 minutes.”
According to maps.google.com, it now takes “about 18 minutes (up to 45 mins in traffic).”