Countywide : Commuters Take New Train Route
Metrolink commuters now have another place to hop on board--the Orange train depot. About 35 commuters boarded at 6:31 Monday morning, the first time in 21 years that passenger rail service has been offered in the city.
Orange joins a number of county cities offering Metrolink stops. Since the service began in 1990, Orange County Transportation Authority has run one round-trip train from San Juan Capistrano to downtown Los Angeles, with stops at Santa Ana, Anaheim, Fullerton and Irvine.
Commuters who brought canned food for the Salvation Army received a free round-trip ticket Monday. Normally, round-trip tickets cost $15.
For the first few months, tickets will be sold on board. Later, automatic ticket-dispensing machines will be installed on the canopied rail platform.
The seven to eight passenger cars can take up to 300 people to Union Station in downtown Los Angeles. When more stops are added, transportation officials hope, the number of commuters will increase.
Orange is the first of the new stops to be added, and stations in Laguna Niguel, Tustin and Buena Park are planned.
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