CA: Metrolink will add midday trains for nontraditional workers, tourists

Metrolink will be adding 32 weekday trains for a 23% increase in service in an effort to capture the non-traditional worker, as well as day trippers, students, tourists and so-called leisure passengers, the agency announced on Monday, Sept. 16.

The six-county passenger-rail agency which runs heavy duty trains on renewable diesel fuel that's less polluting than ordinary diesel, is adding trains to midday in order to fill the gap in service between mornings and evenings, Metrolink officials reported on Wednesday, Sept. 18.

The new service schedule goes into effect on Oct. 21.

Monday through Friday, Metrolink now runs 142 trains on its six-county system. That number will increase to 174 trains.

"We are offering more frequent service, filling in gaps people have been asking for," said Meredith Yeoman, Metrolink spokesperson on Wednesday. "We'll be adding midday options for our passengers."

The new service affects San Bernardino County, Los Angeles County and especially the San Gabriel Valley, downtown Los Angeles, Orange County, Ventura County and a portion of Riverside County.

For example, people have long complained that on the Orange County line, trains from LA Union Station leave at 7:58 a.m. and the next one leaves at 2:11 p.m. — a six hour gap. Under the new schedule, this line will have trains at 7:40 a.m., 8:40 a.m., 10:40 a.m., 12:40 a.m., 1:24 p.m. and 2:40 p.m., Yeoman said.

"You can see how many more options that opens up for people traveling in that direction," she said.

But there are some caveats.

Only two of those OC trains go all the way to San Clemente and Oceanside, so beachgoers, tourists and Marines heading back to Camp Pendleton have limited choices. The other four trains only go as far south as the Laguna Niguel/ Mission Viejo station, she explained.

Likewise, service on the agency's most popular line, the line from San Bernardino to Cal State Los Angeles, ending at the hub, Union Station, will see hour-long waits drop to 30 minutes on certain trains.

From Covina to Union Station, Metrolink's morning trains currently are at 7:42 a.m. and 8:42 a.m. — an hour in between. The new schedule adds a middle morning train by shifting the times the trains depart to: 7:43, 8:13 (added) and 8:43.

Similarly, if someone misses the 10:40 a.m. train, they have to wait two hours for the next one. Starting Monday, Oct. 21, in this morning time, there has been an added train in the middle from Covina to Union Station, with the three-slate of trains leaving Covina at: 10:43, 11:13 and 11:43 in the morning.

In addition, there are two other trains, one at 12:13 p.m. and the other at 12:43 p.m. that will be going from Covina to Union Station, she explained. Trains originating farther east will most likely have a one-hour gap.

By adding more midday trains, the goal is to catch nontraditional workers and also people just going to LA for fun.

"The base customer of a traditional commuter line has changed over the last two years. This has evolved to include people who don't work traditional hours. Also we've broadened the service to accommodate leisure riders," she said.

She noted that to get more midday trains, some trains will be dropped.

For example, the last weekday train leaving from Union Station on the San Bernardino Line departs at 9:38 p.m. But that will be dropped. Under the new schedule, the last train will leave an hour earlier at 8:30 p.m.

This will affect workers getting off a late shift, said Bart Reed, chief executive officer of The Transit Coalition, a transit watchdog nonprofit group.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, train watcher Henry Fung said he would prefer adding more late night trains at 9:38, 10:30 and 11:38 instead of more midday service from LA to Covina.

Ridership on Metrolink reached 22,500 on Tuesday, a record high number since the pandemic, when train ridership sharply dropped, Yeoman said. Metrolink says train ridership has risen steadily since the pandemic.

"People are now going back into the office," Yeoman said. "We anticipate the schedule change will help us grow."

The effects of the new train schedules are:

• The Orange County Line will add seven trains with all weekday trips operating at least as far south as Irvine.
• The San Bernardino-LA Line will add 16 new weekday trains.
• Four new Inland Empire/OC Line trains will add connectivity between Riverside and Orange counties.
• The final weekend IEOC Line train from Oceanside to San Bernardino will leave three hours later.
• The 91/ Perris Valley Line and the Ventura County Line will each add two weekday trains. One Riverside line that Metrolink said was "underutilized" has been eliminated.
• The number of trains serving the Antelope Valley Line will not change, though eight trains that currently operate between Los Angeles and the Via Princessa Station will be extended to and from the Vista Canyon Station.

The Metrolink 2024-2025 budget for train operations was increased by $12.2 million for the year, which equates to a 4.8% increase in operating cost, she said. That doesn't include fuel costs.

To glimpse the new train schedules, go to: metrolinktrains.com/scheduleupdate

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