July 2006 Metrolink Matters

Fun in the Sun More New Metrolink Weekend Service If you’re looking for a way to put the adventure back into Check out the complete schedule for the new weekend service summer, Metrolink has your answer! on page 4. On July 2, Metrolink will introduce Sunday service on And the beach is just the beginning! San Juan Capistrano’s the Orange County Line to complement the Saturday service shops and historic mission are just a Metrolink ride away. In we began offering in June. Three round trips between San Orange, you can visit the antique stores nestled around historic Clemente and Los Angeles (two originating in Oceanside and “Orange Circle” and even hop on the Anaheim Resort Transit one originating in San Juan Capistrano,) will now run on both (ART) bus, which will take you from the Orange Station to Saturdays and Sundays. the Disneyland resort. ART buses require an additional fare. Starting July 15, trains from Visit www.rideart.org for schedules, the Inland Empire will make routes, and fares. the trek from San Bernardino Need another to Oceanside—just in time reason to get on the for the San Clemente Ocean train? If you travel Festival, which begins that between June 3 and same day. Two round trips December 31, 2006, from San Bernardino and one and purchase a one- from downtown Riverside way or round-trip ticket will make stops all along for weekend service the Inland Empire–Orange on the IEOC or Orange County (IEOC) Line, County line, you’ll get including at the San 50 percent off the regular Clemente Pier, where the weekday price (discount Metrolink station is right at will automatically be the beach, just steps away applied at the Metrolink from the sand and surf. Ticket Vending Machine). The new weekend And each paying adult may IEOC Line service also bring up to three children, gives Orange County ages five and under, on residents a whole new the OC or IEOC weekend world of options for service, for free! getting down to the beach For more information with plenty of time to on Metrolink’s new soak up some rays and weekend service, visit hang ten in the surf. The www.metrolinktrains.com/ IEOC trains will make new_weekend_service or call OC stops starting with (800) 371-LINK (5465). the Anaheim Canyon Station. (800) 371-LINK www.metrolinktrains.com Metrolink Matters J u l y ’ 0 6 Inside Metrolink: Sharing Tracks Railroad Term of the Month Shared use agreement: An arrangement in which multiple railroads operate on tracks owned by one of the railroads. Slots: Available positions for trains to operate on a section of rail line during a certain period of time. As you ride Metrolink, you may notice Amtrak and freight trains running alongside your train. This is done through a “shared use agreement,” an arrangement in which railroads and operators cooperate to make rail transit possible. Metrolink trains operate not only on publicly owned rights-of-way, but also on tracks owned by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) and Union Pacific (UP) railroads. Metrolink is not the only commuter train to share tracks. Amtrak and many other commuter railroads throughout the country also utilize track owned by other entities. Metrolink depends on sharing the tracks to pass through areas where there are no publicly owned tracks. For example, Union Pacific owns the tracks Metrolink uses between Moorpark and Oxnard, and BNSF owns the rail on which Orange County commuters ride when they travel between Los Angeles and Fullerton. Any given stretch of rail has a maximum number of “slots,” or positions for trains to operate, in any given twenty-four-hour period. Metrolink must contractually negotiate for slots with both BNSF and UP in order to operate on their tracks. The three parties, all of which have a vested interest in the smooth operation of the system, work out a schedule that meets Metrolink passenger needs and allows the other railroads to operate their own trains. But sometimes even the most careful planning is challenged by real-world events. Both BNSF and UP run long-haul trains, which travel for hundreds, or sometimes thousands, of miles across the country to and from the Southern California coast. Traveling so far over so many days increases the chances that unforeseen circumstances may delay a train and throw off the railroads’ carefully negotiated schedule. When that happens, it can cause a disruption in track sharing, which can result in both commuter and freight trains’ being caught in a railroad form of rush-hour gridlock. Metrolink is constantly working with UP and the BNSF to ensure safe and efficient operations, and to help minimize the impact when things run less than smoothly. We never forget that you depend on us to get you where you are going safely, and on time. For more information on Metrolink, visit www.metrolinktrains.com or call (800) 371-LINK (5465). Bike On Board! Many Metrolink riders bring bicycles on board the train. As a safety reminder to all our passengers, we want to reiterate that the following rules apply to everyone who brings a bicycle on board: Bicycles must be secured with the straps on the lower level of each car. You will find these straps located on the far end of each car, away from the restrooms. In order to secure your bike, you must first flip up the bench seat if it is in the down position. Please note that space is available for only two bicycles per train car. Cyclists may be required to relocate to a different car or wait for a later train due to crowding. Gas-powered and three-wheel bikes are not permitted. Some areas are designated for priority seating for seniors and people with disabilities. Cyclists may have to relocate their bikes to another car in order to accommodate a senior or disabled passenger, especially a passenger with a wheelchair. Seating on Metrolink is always on a first-come, first-served basis. If a passenger boards with a bicycle and there is already a passenger seated in the bicycle-storage area, the conductor may ask that the seated passenger relocate to another vacant seat but cannot require the seated passenger to move. If there is no space in any other car, the cyclist may need to wait for the next train. We respectfully ask that passengers cooperate with cyclists when they are securing their bicycles for the safety of all riders. (800) 371-LINK www.metrolinktrains.com 2 Metrolink Matters J u l y ’ 0 6 Tunnel 26 New Metro Rapid Bus-Metrolink Have you ever wondered about the tunnels you travel through Connection on your daily commute on Metrolink? Many of the tunnels being used today were built way back in the early twentieth century. One The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will launch a new of the busiest is Tunnel 26, which is on Metrolink’s Ventura County Metro Rapid bus line in the San Fernando Valley on June 26. Metro Line just north of the Chatsworth Station. Rapid Line 734 will run on Sepulveda Boulevard between Ventura Thousands of passengers pass through Tunnel 26 each year. Boulevard and the Sylmar/San Fernando Metrolink station. This tunnel is located on the track that connects San Jose and the It will operate every 10 minutes Central Coast region of California to Los Angeles. The Southern during morning and afternoon Pacific Railroad started construction of the tunnel in 1905 and weekday rush hours and finished in 1907. The 7,369-foot-long tunnel shortened travel time every 20 minutes during for passengers traveling on those tracks by more than an hour. Since other times of the day then, the tunnel has been in constant use by the Southern Pacific and evening. For from 1907 to 1996, and currently by Union Pacific, Amtrak, and more information, Metrolink trains. Originally, the tunnel was built with timber frames visit the Metro to restrain the rock. In 1922, Southern Pacific enlarged the tunnel and website at lined it with concrete to reinforce the structure. www.metro.net. This past April, Metrolink began a seismic-enhancement project on Tunnel 26. To avoid any interruption in passenger-train service, the work for the entire safety-upgrade project is being conducted during the late night hours, after the last Metrolink train uses the tunnel. Each night, project contractor Johnson Western Gunite brings equipment into the tunnel for about six hours of work. The Photo of Metro Rapid, process involves drilling holes into the wall every eight feet and then courtesy of Metro. pumping a high-strength, very fluid cement grout into the spaces and cracks between the concrete lining and the native rock. Once the Meet a Metrolink Board Member project is completed, more than 600,000 bags of grout will have been Maureen Micheline pumped into the wall. When the cracks and voids are filled solid, Maureen Micheline has been a Metrolink board there will be no differential movement between the concrete lining member for almost two years. Ms. Micheline started and the mountain in the event of an earthquake. The improvement her career 23 years ago with MTA (formerly the project will be completed by December 2006. Rapid Transit District [RTD]). For the last six years, For nearly one hundred years, Tunnel 26 has survived earth- she has been a board deputy to the north corridor quakes without any damage. Metrolink’s improvement project will representative of the League of Cities. Prior to her allow the tunnel to remain safe and secure for many years to come.

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