EARTHQUAKE / THE LONG ROAD BACK : Commuter Rail Service Already Back on Track

The sound of the Amtrak train whistle in the early morning darkness came as a relief to commuters standing Tuesday on the chilly platform at the San Juan Depot.

“Ah, the whistle,” said Mike Wagner of San Clemente, who relies on the train to get to work in Los Angeles each morning. “We have train. That’s good news.”

As transportation officials worked to get commuter rail service back to normal after Monday’s devastating temblor, commuters were thankful for any means to avoid clogged highways in the earthquake zone.

“I want nothing to do with freeways today,” said Wagner, 40, a program director for a Los Angeles radio station. “My feeling was, if the train wasn’t running today, I wasn’t going in.”

Train service for thousands of commuters and travelers between San Diego and Los Angeles was suspended Monday while railroad tracks and bridges were inspected for damage. No problems were found in Orange County.

While buses replaced a commuter train operated by the Orange County Transportation Authority on Tuesday morning, Amtrak was able to resume full service between San Diego and Los Angeles by midmorning.

About 360 people rode the OCTA buses to Los Angeles in the morning, while an unknown number took Amtrak to work.

OCTA has operated a commuter train from San Juan Capistrano to Union Station in Los Angeles since 1990, and serves about 16,000 passengers a month. Amtrak offers longer-distance routes, but is also used by commuters between San Diego and Los Angeles.

The OCTA commuter train was back running by Tuesday evening, spokeswoman Elaine Beno said.

Amtrak and OCTA officials said commuter rail service will be back to normal in Orange County this morning, barring any major new aftershocks. Each significant aftershock requires reinspection of the railroad tracks, which can cause long delays.

Despite the sometimes uncertain schedules Tuesday, Victor DeFranco, 75, of San Juan Capistrano still preferred the train to his car. He has been commuting by train for 12 years to his job at a Los Angeles produce company.

“All you have to do is get caught in traffic for just an hour and it makes a wreck of you,” he said.

Joann Flanagan, 49, of Dana Point was ready to brave the freeway to reach her job in Commerce when she decided instead to check the trains at the last minute.

“I was ready to drive,” she said. “I didn’t want to, but I have to get to work.”

Like many commuters, Eli Quinones, 38, of Placentia says he expects train ridership to increase in Orange County because of post-quake traffic problems.