Metrolink, Serving Southern California

Metrolink is one of California’s many regional commuter rail operations serving southern areas of the state, particularly Los Angeles. While the commuter service is a relatively new system it has become very popular since it began operations in the early 1990s (especially now as gas prices continue to shoot skyward). Today, Metrolink sees over 42,000 daily boardings on a system that stretches over 500 miles serving six different counties. So, if you live in the Southern California/Los Angeles region and looking for another means of commuting work you may want to seriously consider using Metrolink, which continues to grow and expand.

California is continually growing its commuter, transit, and light rail systems. The state is a leader in commuter rail and one reason behind this is its attempt to find ways to reduce its large amounts of carbon monoxide emissions, mostly from highway traffic. The state’s commuter rail system includes the CalTrain (the Bay Area), Metrolink (Southern California), and Altamont Commuter Express (serving the Central valley and the Silicon valley). Of course, the state is also home to plenty of local services like Amtrak’s Surfliner and Capitol Corridor operations part of the passenger carrier’s and state’s Amtrak California services as well as San Francisco’s famous trolley system.

The Metrolink system began operations in the fall of 1992 operating over trackage originally owned by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway, Southern Pacific, and Union Pacific today of which is part of Union Pacific and BNSF Railway. In total the system operates 512 miles on seven different lines serving 55 stations. Below is a brief overview about each line:

· Ventura County Line: Connects downtown Los Angeles (Union Station) with Ventura (70 miles).

· Antelope Valley Line: Connects downtown Los Angeles (Union Station) with Lancaster (76 miles).

· 91 Line: Connects downtown Los Angeles (Union Station) with Riverside-Downtown (61 miles).

· Inland Empire-Orange County Line: Connects San Bernardino with Oceanside (100 miles).

· Orange County Line: Connects downtown Los Angeles (Union Station) with Oceanside (87 miles).

· Riverside Line: Connects downtown Los Angeles (Union Station) with Riverside-Downtown (76 miles).

· San Bernardino Line: Connects downtown Los Angeles (Union Station) with San Bernardino/Riverside-Downtown (56 miles).

As you can tell almost all of these routes serve the famous Los Angeles Union Station, originally known as the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal (LAUPT). Los Angeles Union Station is the last of our great railroad stations designed in California’s traditional mission-style architecture and completed at a cost of $11 million in 1939, having been financed by the Union Pacific, Santa Fe, and Southern Pacific railroads.

While the station was built and completed towards the end of the railroad industry’s heyday of passenger rail travel it was still very busy and saw over 7,000 folks daily through the facility in the 1940s. The station also saw its three builders’ most prominent passenger trains with names like the Super Chief (Santa Fe), Daylight (Southern Pacific), and City of Los Angeles (one of the Union Pacific’s famous fleet of City trains).

Before 2005 Metrolink (technically known as the Southern California Regional Rail Authority or SCRRA) was operated by Amtrak and today is under contract to Veolia Transportation, where it continues to grow and become more popular. If you would like to learn more about Metrolink or are perhaps considering using the system please click here to visit their website.