Results tagged “trains”

Blue Line trains will run every 6 minutes from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow to help move the hundreds of thousands of people expected at tomorrow's Lakers victory parade. Additionally, the Red and Purple Lines will carry extra train cars and Gold and Green Lines are prepared to add more trains to service if needed. "Metro Bus services will be significantly impacted in the event area, especially bus lines that either run on or cross Figueroa, Flower or Grand streets, between Olympic and Martin Luther King boulevards," the agency said in a statement. "Delays can be expected beginning about 10 a.m. and will continue until the end of the parade for all passengers riding in the Metro Bus lines: 28, 30, 31, 35, 37, 38, 40, 42, 55, 70, 71, 76, 78, 79, 81, 96, 102, 200, 204, 335, 355, 378, 439, 442, 444, 445, 446, 447, 450x, 460, 484, 485, 550, 714, 728, 730, 740, 754, 770."

Yesterday, the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station deputies arrested a 15-year-old for allegedly boarding an Antelope Valley line Metrolink train with an automatic assault weapon.

As of part of today's regionwide 10 a.m. earthquake drill, Metro will be slowing its trains for one hour between 10 and 11 this morning. Their purpose is "so maintenance personnel can simulate inspections on track and other rail infrastructure... Over the course of this one hour period, trains may run at minimum operating speeds (under 20 mph), depending on the location of the train and the exact time. All passengers riding during this time period should expect some delays and plan accordingly." An estimated 5.2 million people are expected to take part in today's Great Southern Califronia ShakeOut exercise. Watch these two videos to catch up.

Metrolink is using Twitter to update their service. The latest: "Ventura Co. Line to be shut down in the Chatsworth area due to heavy smoke in tunnel area. More details to follow." UPDATE: Metrolink has some bus bridge alternatives, but depending on where you are and where you're going, you'll need to see their specific details.

James E. Moore II, chairman of USC's department of industrial and systems engineering and director of the transportation engineering program, writes in an LA Times op-ed piece that "if Metrolink service were discontinued tomorrow and all those passengers got back in their cars, there would be no perceptible change in freeway congestion or travel times." He goes on to say that "Metrolink actually makes traffic conditions worse because it consumes resources that SCRRA's member agencies could dedicate to effective congestion relief measures, such as the creation of priced freeway lanes that can also operate as busways." His piece, which gives a nice quick history of the service, makes some interesting points. But the reality is, Metrolink is most likely here to stay.

This story didn't happen at Union Station. It was about four years too early for that. But at least in reading the story, we can imagine that it happened there, as all good noir stories should.

On this November's ballot, we will be voting on Proposition 1, a bond that will help fund a high speed rail route that is planned to have a two hour-forty minute train trip between Los Angeles and San Francisco. USA Today columnist David Grossman writes his experiences and why we need it:

              

There are few places in Los Angeles where you can feel the history, where if you squint hard enough, you could easily be in the 1930s, and yet that have a key place in Los Angeles' future. That place is Union Station, one of the most beautiful buildings in our city. Most of it is open to the public and it's central to anyone who wants to take a train, bus or subway (which makes it instrumental, as Los Angeles looks toward a future of public transportation). It has Traxx, a fine dining restaurant and it's bar, as well as a cafe. You can't take a bad picture there. It's truly a fantastic treasure.

Three Metrolink Oceanside bound trains from San Bernardino were canceled early this morning after a "person or body" was hit by a freight train late last night. The investigation on this "man or body" lasted until around 6:00 a.m. when the train scheduled resumed service. 110 FREEWAY. Unfortunately, Caltrans didn't get the northbound 110 Freeway open until after last night's rush hour. It re-opened at 7:40, a little over 24-hours after problems were first reported.

Today, City Council President Eric Garcetti announced two motions he is putting forward. If you know the biking community, you know these two proposals came from Garcetti listening to the community as the problems/solutions here are often heard within the cycling community. From a Garcetti press release:

After weeks and weeks of testimony, the verdict is finally in for Juan Alvarez, the man who left his SUV on Metrolink train tracks in Glendale causing one train to derail and crash into another train back in January 2005. 11 people were killed and another 180 were injured. Alvarez said he was only trying to kill himself and that the resulting train crash was not intended. The jury didn't think so and found him guilty of 11 counts of first-degree murder and one count of arson (he doused his car with gas).

Metrolink's ridership got a shot of adrenaline yesterday as ridership jumped to an all time high of 50,232 passengers -- a 15.6% increase since Tuesday for the regional commuter train service.

Doesn't this make you all warm and fuzzy?

Just in time for Earth Day, Metrolink officials announced the arrival of a new kind of train yesterday -- one that's cleaner for the environment and more horsepower, hauling more train cars and passengers. Here is the good news:

One day after LAist reports problems on Metrolink's Lancaster line serving mostly north Los Angeles County, the LA Times writes on new service in Orange County:By 2009, the goal is to have commuter trains running every 30 minutes from 5 a.m. to midnight on weekdays, between Fullerton and Laguna Niguel -- the bookends of Orange County. Seven locomotives and 59 more passenger cars have been ordered, a new station in Buena Park opens Tuesday,...

Dear Metrolink: I've been a daily, faithful rider on the Antelope Valley line for nearly two years now. I love me the public transportation. It saves me the grief that I know all those dead-stopped drivers along the 5 freeway are going through each morning. But here's the deal. You raised my train fare this month. The monthly cost for my pass from Newhall to Union Station went from $187.50 to $193.25. Fortunately, my...

Today is the day where Angelenos will take out their wallets and slap down a 5-dollar bill into the ticket machines for a day pass. It's like Los Angeles is a big city now -- it has high(ish) rates for public transportation. One-way fares will remain the same at $1.25 but the Metro Day Pass went up from $3 to $5; the monthly pass increased $10 to $62; weekly passes are now $17, up...