The Ridin’ O’ the Green : Bypassing Cloverleaves on St. Patrick’s Day

Catherine Smitha and her teen-age boys were at the head of the long line Friday for the first public ride on the Green Line, and they made the rest of the St. Patrick’s Day crowd, well, green with envy.

The Manhattan Beach woman and her sons Joseph and Timothy (the latter wore a T-shirt depicting an old Red Car) were among the thousands of train buffs and others who turned out in Norwalk for a preview of the county’s newest rail line, scheduled to open this summer.

The large crowd was encouraging for Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials who have tried just about everything to lure car-loving Angelenos onto buses and trains. On Friday, the rides were free and food and souvenirs were given away. Schoolchildren sang “I’ve Been Working on the Green Line.”

But many of the people who showed up said they had no plans to use the train to commute. “This is just a fun thing,” said Catherine Smitha, who arrived two hours early to take the 12-minute ride.

“All of the people cheered when the train took off,” Smitha said after the ride. “My children loved it.”

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The $718-million line, which runs down the middle of the Century Freeway, extends 20 miles from Norwalk to Redondo Beach.

“It’s a nice, smooth ride,” Mike Cornett of Norwalk said afterward.

“Beautiful,” Otis Clark of Compton said of the ride. “When it started, you couldn’t even tell it was moving.”

“Great. Fantastic. Fast,” said 9-year-old Ryan Valdez of Norwalk.

Some were surprised to hear that the line does not go to Los Angeles International Airport--a sensitive subject for transit planners. Buses to the airport will be provided from the end of the line.

“Today is a perfect example of how public transportation can bring communities together,” said MTA Chief Executive Officer Franklin E. White. “Green Line riders will have the experience of watching bumper-to-bumper freeway traffic from the comfort of their seats.”

But they won’t be able to eat on the trains. Entering passengers encountered an electronic message board on the station platform. It read: “Reminder, there is no eating, drinking or smoking on the train. You could be fined $250.”