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Post by nickv on Mar 14, 2008 18:08:37 GMT -8
Orange Co. and Inland Emp. - Orange Co. Line Weekend Bus Bridge03/11/2008 - Metrolink News Releases Beginning on the weekend of April 12, 2008 Saturday and Sunday Orange County and Inland Empire - Orange County line trains will be replaced by bus service between Oceanside and Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo stations. Track maintenance will be taking place in several locations on this route over 4 consecutive weekends. Northbound buses will depart Oceanside, San Clemente and San Clemente Pier 20 minutes earlier than published train schedule times except for Inland Empire-Orange County Line train 860 which will depart on time. Northbound passengers bound for San Juan Capistrano will have transportation back from Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo station. Southbound passengers going beyond San Juan Capistrano will be provided bus service from Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo with stops at San Clemente, San Clemente Pier and Oceanside. A bus will originate in San Juan Capistrano for southbound passenger originating at that station. Bus replacement service will operate for four consecutive weekends and is scheduled to end on the weekend of May 3, 2008. Buses will be provided by Coach America.
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Post by dasubergeek on Mar 18, 2008 9:49:39 GMT -8
*snip* As annoying as a bus bridge is, I have to say, the work they've been doing on these crossings has been right on. The horrible bumps on Vermont Ave. and Ball Rd. in Anaheim have been smoothed out so you don't lose your alignment (or fall over on the 46 bus). |
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Post by jejozwik on Apr 22, 2008 10:13:44 GMT -8
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snuffy
Junior Member
Posts: 62 
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Post by snuffy on Apr 22, 2008 21:17:00 GMT -8
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Post by jejozwik on Apr 23, 2008 17:01:33 GMT -8
dont forget to add "&fmt=18" at the end to see a nice high quality video
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Post by nickv on May 12, 2008 19:53:00 GMT -8
Metrolink Ticket Vending Machine News
05/10/2008 - Metrolink Commuter Updates
Advanced Purchase Metrolink tickets for sale! Buy Amtrak tickets too!
Note: The screen and the LAUS background are simulated.
Metrolink's Ticket Vending Machines (TVMs) have had some new features added recently that are generating some questions from passengers. For several months, the machines have been able to sell advance purchase tickets. You can now buy one-way or round trip tickets for a future date, up to 1 year in advance. All you need to do is select the advance purchase option and choose the date you wish to travel and which ticket type you want. There is one difference between a ticket purchased for same-day travel and an advance purchase ticket.
The advance purchase ticket will not have an expiration time printed on it but it is still valid and can be used at any time on the day you chose to travel. The photo [above] shows the difference between the two. The advance purhase ticket is at the top and the regular purchase ticket is below.
Another new feature recently installed on a number of Metrolink's TVMs is the ability to also sell an Amtrak ticket. This is the result of a partnership between Metrolink, Amtrak and Caltrans to fund and install this capability on TVMs throughout the Metrolink system and at Amtrak stations from Oceanside to San Luis Obispo. Installations are almost complete at all stations so look for the graphic on the front of any TVM and if it shows the Amtrak logo on it, it has been activated. Now, passengers can purchase both an Amtrak and a Metrolink ticket to complete a trip that uses both services. A trip from Riverside to Santa Barbara will now be that much easier. Just use the Metrolink/Amtrak TVM now available at all Metrolink stations and at most Amtrak Pacific Surfliner stations*.
*Installation at Carpinteria and San Clemente Pier stations to take place at a later date
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Post by Tony Fernandez on May 12, 2008 21:26:28 GMT -8
They really need more of those machines at Union Station. I've been close to being late on a number of occasions just because the lines are so long (and then the people who don't speak English have a terrible time with those machines).
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Post by Transit Coalition on May 12, 2008 21:41:19 GMT -8
They really need more of those machines at Union Station. I've been close to being late on a number of occasions just because the lines are so long (and then the people who don't speak English have a terrible time with those machines). The new Amtrak / Metrolink TVM's have been at LA Union for some time. Several of the new machines are by the Metro / Metrolink Ticket Windows at the East Portal. |
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Post by nickv on May 12, 2008 22:27:54 GMT -8
Both a Metrolink conductor and a NCTD staff member informed me that Metrolink could use some station/TVM ambassadors, especially on weekends.
There are people who go to a TVM and get stuck because they are trying to figure out how to use it...; this often clogs the queue line.
Ambassadors tend to expedite the TVM process... While I was volunteering for NCTD to help SPRINTER riders with the TVM's, there was a case where the train was departing in two minutes, and about 8-10 people where in line to buy SPRINTER tickets. The ambassadors helped the riders quickly with the TVM transactions and got them all on the train on time.
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Post by bobdavis on May 12, 2008 23:05:09 GMT -8
The note above the article about the new locomotive (which refers to it as a "train") calls it "partially electric". Just to set things straight: It's a diesel-electric locomotive, an updated, lower pollution of the machine that sent the old steam locomotives to junkyards and museums 50 to 60 years ago. It has a diesel engine directly connected to a generator, which through a heavy-duty electric control system, powers four electric motors, one for each axle. The basic idea is an overgrown electric streetcar that carries the power plant on its back. In the sense of what turns the wheels, it's all electric, but the power plant is all diesel. As a side note, similar diesel generator setups are used for commercial power in isolated locations, the nearest to LA being Catalina Island.
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Post by tonyw79sfv on May 12, 2008 23:23:07 GMT -8
The new TVMs have made it to non-Metrolink territory, mostly along the Pacific Surfliner route to dispense Amtrak tickets. I've found one at Grover Beach near San Luis Obispo (actually closer to Pismo Beach); it wasn't operational yet though I was intrigued to see a familiar machine so far away from LA, there was even a Metrolink map posted on the side which is irrelevant to the area being served.
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Post by nickv on May 17, 2008 22:13:29 GMT -8
I was at the Oceanside TC today (btw, it was about 80 degrees there, 100+ degrees inland) and people are liking the new TVM features. I saw several people buy Amtrak tickets at the TVM's which really kept the lines short in the Amtrak office. Usually that office gets pretty crowded at times.
As usual, those weekend Amtrak trains were packed.
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Post by nickv on May 17, 2008 22:35:51 GMT -8
Metrolink Weekends - Free Train Ride Observations
Return Trips to Riverside from Oceanside TC
Try Metrolink for free from the Riverside-Downtown
Station Saturday, May 17th on the Inland Empire-Orange
County Line. Visit, dine and antique shop in charming
downtown Orange; enjoy an afternoon of fun at the Irvine
Spectrum; or better yet, get away to San Juan Capistrano
for a unique opportunity of a historic tour of Old Town.
.......................................
Well, I think the majority of the free Riverside riders passed on these attractions and went straight to the beach! There was also the seventh annual Operation Appreciation festival held near the Oceanside Pier too.
I was at the Oceanside TC this afternoon and I have never seen such a huge weekend crowd waiting to board Metrolink. Not only once, but twice... Both the 2:50PM and the 4:30PM IEOC trains from Oceanside were very packed (SRO possibly) when they left Oceanside. I wouldn't be surprised if I see a story in tomorrow's newspaper.
Metrolink picked the perfect day to have a free ride promotion from the Inland Empire: It will be 100 degrees today. Oceanside will be 77 degrees (LA Times). There's a military festival with a free BBQ near the pier. And you can take a roundtrip ride on the train for free from Riverside. Anybody up for that?...
Hopefully this free day will be good catcher for the Metrolink Weekends Program.
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Post by wad on May 29, 2008 3:52:54 GMT -8
What was the ridership like for the weekend train?
I remembered a similar arrangement for the Red Line when it was extended to North Hollywood. The NoHo Arts Festival was scheduled for the opening weekend.
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Post by wad on May 29, 2008 3:54:18 GMT -8
They really need more of those machines at Union Station. I've been close to being late on a number of occasions just because the lines are so long (and then the people who don't speak English have a terrible time with those machines). I wonder if it would allow for open jaw trips as well, where the round trip doesn't end in the same station where the trip originated. Like buying an L.A. to Oceanside ticket, then Oceanside to San Diego. |
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Post by nickv on May 29, 2008 8:41:48 GMT -8
I was on the OC Line on Saturday, May 24. I'm not quite sure if the Memorial Day Weekend had any part of this, but the train car I was riding had about 85-90% of the seats filled in the LAUS area. Just like weekday commuters, the bulk of the boardings/discharges took place at LAUS.
During the 100 degree weekend a few weeks ago on the IEOC Line, there was a free ride promotion for riders coming from the Riverside Downtown Station. I rode the Sprinter into Oceanside TC that weekend. That IEOC Line train was absolutely packed at Oceanside! I would imagine that train had SRO conditions by the time it rolled through Santa Ana.
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Post by nickv on May 29, 2008 9:04:14 GMT -8
I agree, since these TVM now sell Amtrak tickets. I think two should be placed somewhere in the tunnel between the Metrolink and Metro Gold Line platforms near the information kiosk, three to four TVM's in the large wait room area near the information booth and taxi entrance, and two near the northwestern entrance to the Red/Purple Line Station (just far away enough to not confuse riders).
LAUS could also probably use some station TVM ambassadors during rush hours and weekends to speed up TVM line crowds. When the SPRINTER train was launched in March down in San Diego County, its stations had ambassadors and their presence made life a whole lot easier for the riders when TVM lines were long and time was short.
I have not tried that yet: Metrolink from LAUS to Oceanside TC, Amtrak from Oceanside TC to Santa Fe Station in one transaction. I'll experiment with that the next time I'm at a train station and get back with you.
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Post by LAofAnaheim on Aug 29, 2008 15:44:26 GMT -8
Check this out: $190 Million in Proposition 1B Funding Approved for Transportation Projects
Looks like $32M is going towards building a third main track between Commerce & Fullerton to increase the schedule reliability of both freight and commerce. Could there be planning to schedule more trains coming to LAUS from OC once Metrolink becomes regional service within the OC corridor in the next year? |
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Post by spokker on Aug 29, 2008 16:51:06 GMT -8
Check this out: biz.yahoo.com/bw/080828/20080828005985.html?.v=1Looks like $32M is going towards building a third main track between Commerce & Fullerton to increase the schedule reliability of both freight and commerce. Could there be planning to schedule more trains coming to LAUS from OC once Metrolink becomes regional service within the OC corridor in the next year? That's what I heard. 30 minute service to LA could not start before the third main track is completed. After that I guess it's simply a matter of funding. |
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Post by bluelineshawn on Aug 29, 2008 17:21:56 GMT -8
Good news, but the article says it's for only three miles of track. I'm guessing that's not a typo since it's only $32 million. In the long term will even three tracks be enough?
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Post by jejozwik on Sept 12, 2008 16:26:13 GMT -8
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Post by spokker on Sept 12, 2008 16:54:06 GMT -8
Reminds me of the Placentia accident.
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Post by jejozwik on Sept 12, 2008 17:07:49 GMT -8
 train 111 from union station to ventura county |
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Post by jejozwik on Sept 12, 2008 17:32:53 GMT -8
apparently there is also a fatal crash involving a car that crossed the tracks in corona. bad day for metrolink tonight
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Post by spokker on Sept 12, 2008 17:38:05 GMT -8
NBC was reporting 4 dead. CBS is reporting 6 dead. I believe this is the general area where it happened. Google MapThey said it was near Topanga Blvd. |
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hank
New Member
Posts: 2
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Post by hank on Sept 12, 2008 17:56:16 GMT -8
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Post by spokker on Sept 12, 2008 18:13:20 GMT -8
This may be too early to start discussing, but this happened on Metrolink owned track right? That means that the trains were being fed instructions from Metrolink dispatchers, correct?
I have to imagine that the rush hour train headed away from Los Angeles had the right of way, and that the freight missed a red or something.
I mean, that would be my first guess.
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Post by jejozwik on Sept 12, 2008 18:23:31 GMT -8
This may be too early to start discussing, but this happened on Metrolink owned track right? That means that the trains were being fed instructions from Metrolink dispatchers, correct? I have to imagine that the rush hour train headed away from Los Angeles had the right of way, and that the freight missed a red or something. I mean, that would be my first guess. ktla interviewed a rail conductor at one point. he was looking at the track and discussing what may have happened. the freight train had been on the single track section for at least a mile. and the metrolink train was just leaving chatsworth station. the metrolink train was a few hundred feet from the switching mechanism. ither the signaling mechanism for the metrolink train failed. or the conductor misread it. ither way it was speculation at the time, and there are now 7 dead. i hope this is a wake-up call for single track sharing with freight trains |
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Post by nickv on Sept 12, 2008 20:08:28 GMT -8
9:00 PM Update:
If anybody is in the area and feels called to help with the Metrolink crash disaster, the UCLA Blood and Platelet Center will be open tomorrow (9/13) from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. to accept blood donations. Healthy donors of all blood types are needed to donate blood to provide help for the injured Metrolink passengers. Appointments can be made by calling (310) 794-7217.
You can also contact the Red Cross regarding blood donations or other assistance for those injured in the Metrolink crash. The phone number: 800-REDCROSS or 800-257-7575 (Español).
Family members of passsengers on board train 111, are advised to call (800) 371-LINK for information.
At the time of this post there are at least 70 injuries and 10 passings according to CNN; however the LAPD is saying they believe at least 20 people may have passed on. The cause of the collision is not known at this time.
Passengers in Orange County may also experience delays on the 91 Line and IEOC Line because of an unrelated incident in Corona. At approximately 5:30 p.m. a Metrolink train collided with a vehicle on the tracks in Corona. According to news reports, the driver drove around the closed gates to try to beat the train, but failed.
For more information, go to: www.metrolinktrains.com
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Post by Justin Walker on Sept 12, 2008 20:20:40 GMT -8
The Chatsworth station is double-track. About 2/3 mile north at CP Topanga, the siding track ends onto the main track. The line is single-track from there through the mountains until Simi Valley.
If the single-track stretch was assigned for the westbound Metrolink's use by the dispatcher, the freight train would have needed to ignore two red signals (one in Simi and another on the east side of the hill) to collide with the Metrolink train where it did.
What is therefore much more likely is that the Metrolink train was supposed to hold at CP Topanga and allow the freight train to take the siding and clear the single-track. This indicates the signal malfunctioned or the engineer ran the red signal at CP Topanga.
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