San Gabriel Valley : Covina Residents Sue Metrolink Over Train Noise

After four years of letter-writing, protesting and negotiating, Peggy Ortiz gave up conventional methods of complaining and put a banner on her house, simply declaring, “Metrolink sucks.”

Ortiz and other Covina residents whose homes sit near the busy commuter train track say noise and vibrations from the 22 trains each day have become unbearable.

The noise has gotten so bad, homeowners said recently, that not only does Metrolink suck, it owes.

Homeowners up and down the track have joined with City Council members in hopes to make Metrolink buy out their homes. A proposal for a noise-level study will go before the council Tuesday.

“Our life is not going to get any better here,” said Ortiz, who has lived in her house for 26 years. “We get no relief from the noise. The trains start at 5:10 a.m. and go through 10 p.m.”

Metrolink officials said they have tried to answer residents’ complaints by making small changes, such as reducing the horn’s noise level to make it “as appealing as a train horn can be,” said Francisco Oaxaca, a Metrolink spokesman.

There is nothing else Metrolink can do and nothing else the residents should expect them to do, Oaxaca said.

“It is very unrealistic on their part,” Oaxaca said.