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Metrolink (California)

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Metrolink
File:Metrolink Logo.gif
Overview
HeadquartersLos Angeles, California
Reporting markSCAX
LocaleSouthern California
Dates of operation1992–present

Metrolink (reporting mark SCAX) is a commuter rail system that serves the Southern California region. In 1991, it was established as the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA) and service began the following year. In 2003, it had an operating budget of $103.3 million. Since July 2005, Metrolink has been operated under contract by Connex Railroad, LLC. The contract extends for a period of five years and includes the provision of locomotive engineers and conductors. Prior to July 2005, Metrolink was operated under contract by Amtrak.

Overview

A picture taken on the upper level of a Metrolink passenger car.
A picture taken outside a Metrolink passenger car.

Metrolink's area of service includes lines to Ventura County, Los Angeles County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County, Orange County, and San Diego County. It connects to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Metro Rail lines at Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles, and to the San Diego Coaster at Oceanside. It also connects at various points to Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner, Coast Starlight, and Southwest Chief services. As of early 2006, it served a total of 56 stations throughout the Greater Los Angeles Area.

The average weekday ridership for September 2005 was 40,078 boardings.[1] Ridership has grown at 3-4% per year since opening; Orange County ridership grew 30% from 2002 to 2005.

Storage facility

The main Metrolink maintenance and storage facility is located on the east bank of the Los Angeles River in the vicinity of the Glendale Narrows, just south of Union Pacific's Taylor Yard. The system covers 511.6 miles (823.3 km) of track, most of which were purchased by Metrolink from freight railroads, while other sections are still owned by freight railroads. Both the publicly and privately owned routes share track with freight trains, and many sections are single track, limiting Metrolink's ability to expand service. Delays are particularly common on the Riverside Line, which uses UP's main transcontinental line--one of the most congested freight rail corridors in the United States. Construction projects to expand capacity have been gradually undertaken since Metrolink began operation.

Fares and service

The fare structure on Metrolink is based on a formula taking into account driving distance between stations, added to a flat fee charged for boarding the train. Fares are calculated in 25 cent increments between stations. Prior to July 2004, Metrolink fares were based on fare zones radiating outward from Union Station, but a controversial fare restructuring converted fares into the current system.[2] Fare increases are generally done on an annual basis in July to coincide with increased fuel and labor expenses.

Metrolink's fares are high compared to its peers and to competing bus service. For instance, a round trip ticket between Montclair and Downtown Los Angeles is $13.25, compared with $7.20 for competing Foothill Transit express bus service (via carpool lanes and the El Monte Busway) between the two destinations. Similarly, monthly passes are higher than competing bus systems. A monthly pass for the bus between the Palmdale Metrolink station and Los Angeles Union Station costs $210, compared to $277.75 on Metrolink. (The high fares, however, give Metrolink one of the highest farebox recovery rates of any commuter rail service.) Buses are often comparable in travel time to Metrolink because of HOV lanes and delays caused to Metrolink trains from freight traffic and curves in the track.

Metrolink riders can ride most buses in Los Angeles and Orange County, as well as the Metro Rail, for free with their valid ticket or pass, and monthly pass holders in Orange and Ventura Counties can use Amtrak Pacific Surfliner and Thruway Coach services through the Rail 2 Rail program.

Like many US commuter rail systems, Metrolink lacks off-peak service—a characteristic which may also hurt ridership numbers. Between approximately 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. there are few trains on most lines, even those (such as the Antelope Valley line) that have very high peak-hour ridership. However, Metrolink has added more trains on some lines, especially in Orange County, when Orange County decided to subsidize more service into the county.

Some of these attributes can be ascribed to the structure of Metrolink's governance board, a Joint Powers Authority of the five transportation commissions of the counties in its service area: Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Orange County Transportation Authority, Riverside County Transportation Commission, Ventura County Transportation Commission and San Bernardino Associated Governments (with representatives of the San Diego Association of Governments, the Southern California Association of Governments and the California Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing Agency as non-voting ex-officio members of the board). Each of the five member agencies fund the portion of service that operates in their county, mostly with local sales tax money, although there are exceptions. Metrolink also occasionally gets some direct funding from the state and federal governments, although this often calls for a delicate act of political balancing as local agencies are concerned that money for Metrolink could instead be used to funds roads and buses in their counties. The inherent conflict of interest of the Board partially explains the high fares.

Future expansion

Future plans call for line expansions extending the service area. The Perris Valley Line will link Riverside and Perris by 2009, with eventual plans for a Phase II extension further east to Hemet and San Jacinto.[3] In the coming decade, another short eastward extension is planned to link San Bernardino with Redlands/Mentone.[4] New stations serving Buena Park and Yorba Linda are expected to open in 2006.[5]

In addition, Los Angeles County-area transit advocates have proposed adding Metrolink service along the Harbor Subdivision corridor, so as to provide Metrolink service to Inglewood, Los Angeles International Airport, and the South Bay. Proponents argue that this could provide direct service between the South Bay, LAX, and Union Station, and possibly continue into the San Fernando Valley, though they also envision that a Metro Rail line could run in the corridor as well. Opponents argue that frequently running fast moving trains along busy Slauson Avenue, through a residential area, is potentially dangerous.

Major Accidents

Placentia, April 2002

On April 23, 2002, a BNSF Railway freight train collided head-on with a Metrolink train in Placentia, near the Atwood Junction, at the intersection of Orangethorpe Avenue and Van Buren Street. Both trains were on the same east-west track moving toward one another. The Metrolink had the right-of-way; it was supposed to switch to a southbound track. The BNSF train was supposed to slow and stop just before the switch while the Metrolink passed, but the crew missed a signal one and a half miles back warning them to slow down. By the time the crew saw the red "stop" signal at the switch and the Metrolink train, they were going too fast to avoid a collision. Although there was speculation that the signals alerting the Burlington to slow and stop had malfunctioned, an investigation later concluded that it was human error by the crew that caused the accident. Two people died in the crash and twenty-two were seriously injured.[6]

Glendale, January 2005

Further information: Glendale train crash

On January 26, 2005, two Metrolink passenger trains were derailed in the worst train accident in Metrolink's history. A southbound Metrolink train derailed when it hit a vehicle parked on the tracks near an at-grade crossing at Chevy Chase Drive. The train struck a stationary freight locomotive (overturning it) and jackknifed, colliding with an oncoming northbound Metrolink train which also derailed. Eleven people were killed (including an off-duty sheriff's deputy and a train conductor) and over 100 people were injured, about 40 seriously. The man who parked the vehicle on the tracks, Juan Manuel Alvarez, was apprehended and charged with 11 counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances, including murder by train wrecking. At the time of this writing, he is awaiting trial in the Los Angeles Superior Court.

Rail lines

Fleet

Metrolink fleet consists of 38 locomotives and 155 Bombardier BiLevel Coaches.[7][8] Metrolink owned units are painted white with periwinkle streaks.

Due to equipment shortages some locomotives and train cars are leased from the Sounder commuter train system in the Puget Sound region of Washington state, since that system uses the same Bombardier equipment. They are typically seen in service on the San Bernardino Line. Also, 4 cars were leased from Altamont Commuter Express they are kept as a backup at the Metrolink yard and they are occasionally seen in service. These leased units can be recognized by their retention of their owners livery, with Metrolink logo's pasted on top of the owners logo's, instead of the standard Metrolink colors.

Locomotives

Model Manufactured Road Numbers Number In Fleet Notes
EMD F59PH 1992-1993 851-873 22
EMD F59PHI 1994 874-881 8
EMD F59PHI 1995 882, 883 2 Part of the canceled Marlboro train project
EMD F59PHI 2001 884-887 4 Part of a canceled VIA Rail Canada order
EMD F40PHR 1981 800 1 Used as a spare, for special events, and for work trains.
One of 3 units purchased from Amtrak
EMD SD50 ? 804 1 Used for switching and work trains.
One of 2 units purchased from Union Pacific.
EMD F59PHI ? 901 1 Leased from Sounder
MPI MPXpress 2008 ? (11) MP36PH-3C model, ordered by Metrolink in early 2006

Passenger Cars

Model Generation Manufactured Road Numbers No. In Fleet Notes
Bombardier BiLevel Generation 1 1992-1993 101-163 62
Bombardier BiLevel Generation 2 1997 164-182 18
Bombardier BiLevel Generation 3 2002 183, 185-210 26
Bombardier BiLevel ? ? 2210, 2213, 2231, 2232, 2237-2240 8 Leased from Sounder
Bombardier BiLevel ? ? 3202, 3203 2 Leased from ACE

Cab Cars

Model Generation Manufactured Road Numbers No. In Fleet Notes
Bombardier BiLevel Generation 1 1992-1993 601-631 30
Bombardier BiLevel Generation 2 1997 632, 633, 635-637 5 #634 was wrecked en route from the factory, number was retired
Bombardier BiLevel ? ? 6104, 6106-6108 4 Leased from Sounder
Bombardier BiLevel ? ? 3303, 3304 2 Leased from ACE

Media

The Metrolink was used in the 1995 Paramount Pictures film, Virtuosity starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. The new commuter train station south of downtown Los Angeles became the setting for a chase sequence involving Barnes and Sid 6.7. The director, Brett Leonard, said, "The Metrolink station was the ultimate location where contemporary Los Angeles meets the future - a mass transit system suspended above a five-tiered cement freeway structure."[citation needed]

See Also

References

  1. ^ Metrolink (2005). "Metrolink Performance Summaries, September 2005." Retrieved October 3, 2005.
  2. ^ http://www.metrolinktrains.com/about/Board%20Agenda/Past_Board_Agendas/May_2004.pdf
  3. ^ http://www.perrisvalleyline.info/
  4. ^ http://thetransitcoalition.us/NewsPDF/TTC20051223a.pdf
  5. ^ Pak, Ellen. "Buena Park is on track for Metrolink," Orange County Register, July 9, 2005.
  6. ^ "Railroad Accident Report- Collision of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Freight Train With Metrolink Passenger Train- Placentia, California- April 23, 2002" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. 2003-10-07. Retrieved 2005-11-22.
  7. ^ Metrolink. "Equipment". Retrieved June 16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ Rapid Transit Press. "Metrolink Roster". Retrieved November 7. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
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