2 Commuter Trains Will Be Added on Los Angeles Run

In a bid to relieve Santa Ana Freeway congestion, two passenger trains per day will be added in October to the eight already serving Los Angeles-Orange County rail commuters, officials said Monday.

The action is expected to help relieve congestion on the Santa Ana Freeway during a massive, $1.5-billion widening project scheduled to begin this fall.

But reaction from Orange County commuters who make daily treks on Amtrak’s San Diegan route was mixed. They heralded the plan for an extra--and earlier--morning train, but they questioned whether the extra afternoon train, which will leave Los Angeles before 4:30 p.m., will provide any relief to commuters.

Although details are still being finalized, officials said a new train would arrive in Los Angeles about 7:30 a.m., 30 minutes before the earliest arriving train. The added afternoon train would depart Los Angeles for Orange County at 4:15 p.m., 30 minutes ahead of the first late afternoon train serving commuters.

Amtrak passenger Roger Simpson, who now takes a 7 a.m. train from Santa Ana that arrives by 8 a.m. in Los Angeles, said an earlier morning train would be a blessing. Simpson, like other train commuters, said he uses his time on the train to finish paper work.

“I will definitely take an earlier (train). I’ll have more time to do things in my office,” said Simpson, an attorney.

But Simpson said he would prefer that an extra southbound train in the afternoon depart after 5 p.m., instead of the planned 4:15 p.m. train. Simpson said he now departs Los Angeles at 5:50 p.m., arriving in Santa Ana by 6:45 p.m.

“That time (4:15 p.m.) wouldn’t do much good to people who get out of work at 5 p.m. or afterward,” he said.

Dana W. Reed, a member of the Orange County Transportation Commission, said schedules for the added trains were determined not by the hours most desired by commuters but on the availability of extra rail cars. The extra cars can be used only at those hours and would not be available later in the mornings or evenings.

The two new trains will be financed through the California Department of Transportation and that Amtrak will operate them under contract, Reed said. The dollar amount of the contract has not been settled yet, officials said.

Such a contract avoids legal problems involving a congressional ban on Amtrak’s use of federal subsidies for strictly local, commuter rail service, officials said.

Tentative plans are for the train to originate and terminate in San Juan Capistrano.

The San Clemente Amtrak station, which now has only limited service of two northbound and two southbound trains daily, could not be the terminus, Reed said, because it lacks a “turnaround” facility.

Train fares from Orange County to Los Angeles vary, ranging from $6 one way from Fullerton to $13 from San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano. Santa Ana passengers pay $9 one way; Anaheim passengers pay $7.50.

SALES TAX INCREASE Proposal is closer to ballot. Part I, Page 1