Commuter Train’s Inaugural Run a Success

Dee Molina not only got to work a lot earlier Monday, she also was a part of a bit of history in the making.

While a conga line of automobiles queued up on the ran-splattered Santa Ana Freeway, Molina and scores of other Orange County residents were all aboard a sleek rail car for the inaugural journey of what transportation officials billed as Southern California’s first commuter train service.

Lured by promises of timely service, a more convenient departure schedule and ticket prices 20% cheaper than the typical Amtrak fare, about 200 commuters hopped aboard the train in Orange County for the early morning journey to downtown Los Angeles. Several hundred more boarded the 5:45 p.m. train after work Monday for the return trip back.

“This works much better for me,” Molina said as she and other passengers watched the idling mass of cars poke along on the freeway Monday morning. Indeed, after the train chugged out of San Juan Capistrano at 6 a.m., it whisked Molina and the rest to Union Station in Los Angeles in 1 hour and 15 minutes, arriving 10 minutes ahead of schedule.

For experienced commuters on board, the early arrival was a welcome precedent.

“We’re used to a variety of excuses for why the train is late,” said Molina, who had been riding Amtrak for about eight months from her home in Dana Point to downtown Los Angeles.

Running from San Juan Capistrano to Union Station with three Orange County stops along the way and then retracing its route in the evening, the commuter line operates in addition to Amtrak service along the same line.

The new service is funded by the Orange County Transportation Commission, which is paying Amtrak $1.8 million annually to run the five-car trains capable of carrying 400 riders each way. Fares represent a savings over those offered by Amtrak, with monthly rates between San Juan Capistrano and Los Angeles priced at $281 aboard the commuter train compared to $352 for the regular service.

Amtrak has two morning trains to Los Angeles that are heavily used, but the earliest arrives at 7:55 a.m., too late for many workers to get to their jobs on time.

In addition, transportation officials say the new morning train service should prove far more punctual than the other Amtrak trains, which often fall behind schedule during the trip from San Diego. The commuter train is specifically designated for Orange County, and is scheduled to be waiting in San Juan Capistrano when passengers arrive each weekday morning.

The late afternoon train, meanwhile, is scheduled to allow workers just enough time to reach Union Station after the typical close of the business day.

Monday’s historic first run of the commuter train included festivities.

San Juan Capistrano City Councilman Anthony L. Bland marked Monday’s occasion with a traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony before the train’s departure from the city’s century-old train depot.

At the Los Angeles end of the line, loudspeakers blared the Bangles’ “Manic Monday” to welcome dignitaries and commuters alike as the train pulled into Union Station.

Orange County Supervisor Thomas F. Riley, who is also chairman of the Orange County Transportation Commission, called the occasion “day one of our entry into the rail age.” By 1993, Amtrak and the Transportation Commission hope to add several more of the inter-county rail shuttles, Riley said.

For commuters like Phil Reed of Mission Viejo, an engineer for the city of Los Angeles, the early morning shuttle allows him to work an 8 a.m.-to-5 p.m. day. Before the new commuter service went into operation, the first train from San Juan Capistrano to Los Angeles had departed the Capistrano Depot at 6:40 a.m.

“That wouldn’t allow me to get to my office until 8:15 or 8:30,” said Reed, who finishes his commute with a 15-minute walk to Los Angeles City Hall.