Metrolink

«What happens if the engine stops?
We all freeze and die!
But will it stop? Oh will it stop?
NO! NO!
Can you tell us why?
The engine is eternal?
The engine lasts forever!
Rumble! Rumble!
Rattle! Rattle!
Who is the reason why?
WIIIILLLLFFFFFFRRRREEEED!
YAAAAHHH!
Wilfred! Wilfred! Hip hooray!
Wilfred! Wilfred! Yaaaaahhh!»
But seriously, I’d rather ride the damn Snowpiercer than this broken down, worn out, filthy, staffed by idiots, joke of a railroad. MetroSTINK is more like it!
The «Quiet Car» is populated by noisy imbeciles on their phones, and they give you hell for trying to get them to quiet down. Bums pissing all over the seats and themselves. Lazy, stupid, irresponsible staff. Constantly LATE! Poorly labeled stations, and an inaudible P.A. system. This place is worse than the overcrowded, dirty, unsafe railroads in India or Pakistan! Totally 3^rd world, and an embarrassment to the name of railroads.
The railroads of the 1800’s are better than this by comparison.
You lose something on here, you’ll never see it again. Perverted guys who keep hitting on you if you’re a woman traveling by herself. Overpriced on everything. You’re better off driving your own car. My brother and I got his girlfriend from Pasadena, CA. to Buena Park, CA. in 6:30 PM traffic on a Friday in just an hour, and on only $ 15 worth of gas! Would’ve been longer with MetroSTINK, given all of the delays and the lateness! Avoid like the plague!

Took the Metrolink today to Oceanside (total trip is approximately 2 hours). Why you may ask? It was a cold and rainy day and we were out to go to Carlsbad to buy a new car. But why so far to get a new car? All the dealers in our area were either just plain terrible or unable to get better pricing (check my other reviews). My fiancé also didn’t feel comfortable in driving our new car back alone, so we opted to take the train so both of us could drive the new car back together.
Our train didn’t depart until 2 pm, but as we waited, the train arrived early about 30 minutes early. They gave us the opportunity to board right away, so we did. We wanted to enjoy the views, so we went to the very top to grab a seat (these trains are configured as a double decker meaning there is a top floor and bottom). Today was Sunday and it was completely empty. We didn’t check the regular seats, but seats with tables included two 110v plugs to charge your electronics. Super convenient! So bring your chargers with you! The train was also extremely clean and free of trash. Downside, there’s no wi-​fi on board.
Stop after stop, the conductor was very funny and amusing. He threw little hints to people to hurry up and board or get ready to get out quickly since they were on a time crunch. Never once was he disrespectful, but the way he worded it received a couple of chuckles from me and others on board.
If you ever need to go out of town, definitely consider this as an option. What a stress free way to travel somewhere. Also, the weekend day pass for us one way was only $ 10 a person and we got to oceanside pretty quickly including stops to let people off. Go Metrolink!

Tried Metrolink to downtown LA a while back and everything went smoothly. Today arrived for 7:10pm back to Covina about 10 minutes early and train wasn’t boarding at the 7:10 departure time they announced boarding shortly at 7:25pm they said having problems, but will board soon. At 7:47 they finally let us board the 7:10 train. But when we asked when we are leaving we just got a blank stare. maybe we get to leave before the 9pm train arrives. 8:00 pm and no word yet. We are still paying customers and deserve to be told something. I guess I’ll drive next time. Way to go Metrolink, should change name to Metrolate or Metrolie or Metrojoke.

Conductors are friendly. Train service is horrible! Always late, lack of seats, uncomfortable, and unreliable. Also, the other day there was a medical emergency and a passenger who is a Registered Nurse provides aide, yet Metrolink had NO medical supplies. If it’s not a medical emergency, there is a security concern.
AVOID the «Quiet car».

Should change the name to Metro-late…always late, the conductor’s never check tickets, equipment breaks down constantly. Last week during the rains they said the breakdowns were weather related LOL

Taking away two stars from my previous review. Prices have soared and delays are much more common than usual. They make no effort to remedy their miscommunication — their conductors cannot even get live feedback from them either!
I understand that Union Pacific Railroad owns the tracks, but, seriously, if you are paying to share rail for commuters, priority should be given — not the other way around!
I am so disappointed with Metrolink. It is a shame that the Metro system has not extended to outer Los Angeles County. Otherwise, I would ditch this train.

I tried taking Metrolink Orange Line this past weekend as a cheaper alternative to Amtrak to get from LA to San Diego. Here’s the deal:
1) It is indeed the cheapest way to get from downtown LA (Union Station) all the way to the north end of San Diego (Oceanside): $ 16.50 one way normally or $ 10 with a weekend day pass. If you need to go south from there to Carlsbad, Encinitas, Sorrento Valley, Old Town or Downtown San Diego from there, you’ll have to wait for the Coaster (approx $ 4-​$ 6 one way), and on Saturday/​Sundays there’s a 1 hour gap between route times UNLESS you take the FIRST Metrolink of the day. Amtrak is $ 37 one way from Union Station to Downtown San Diego and a few bucks more during holiday peak times.
2) I knock it down to 3 stars not 4 because the Metrolink train is actually slower than the Amtrak. Amtrak will take you from Union Station to Downtown San Diego in about 2.5 hours, but it takes Metrolink a whole 2 hours to get you to Oceanside, which is an hour from DTSD.
3) No alcohol is allowed on board. You can’t buy it, you can’t bring it. Amtrak at least has water, coffee, beers for sale, but there are no provisions on Metrolink.
4) No wi-​fi on Metrolink, period.
5) Unlike Amtrak which dims the lights for your comfort, the bright lights are kept on the whole way even during evening trips.
6) You can’t buy your ticket on board, unlike Amtrak. You have to buy one at the Metrolink kiosk before getting on the train, so make sure you allot for that time.
7) Much fewer departure times than Amtrak. Amtrak has one every 1 – 2 hours leaving LA to go to San Diego, whereas on weekends Metrolink has 4 departure times.
Bottom line: it’s cheaper, but slower and you end up wasting more time waiting for the connection if your final destination isn’t Oceanside. But the $ 10 weekend day pass means you can hop on in the AM, go to Anaheim, hang out with Mickey Mouse in Downtown DIsney or visit your girl in Fullerton or your fighter pilot boyfriend in Oceanside, then hop back on in the evening and head home for no additional fee.

Metrolink is great IF you happen to be doing a day trip. I was just planning a trip in and out of LAX. My flight arrives back home at 11:30 PM. Nope. No Metrolink available to Santa Clarita after I use the Flyaway bus from LAX to Union Station. I’ll have to rearrange my trip to drive to and from the Van Nuys Flyaway and pay $ 40 for parking.
I haven’t lived in the area long enough to know why Metrolink doesn’t go straight to LAX, nor to Long Beach. Probably an interesting story. ..

Metrolink is a commuter train line providing rail service to/​from LA, Ventura, Riverside, San Bernardino and Orange Counties. As concerns Metrolink’s OC line, it is habitually unreliable with very limited A.M. and P.M. departures and it’s on-​time performance is equally poor. Metrolink’s OC rail service shuts down at 6:45pm so if you need to get to OC you have to ride Amtrak at 7:30pm or 10:10pm or take a bus. Otherwise you are stranded. If you purchase a Rail2Rail monthly pass to ride both Amtrak and Metrolink, Amtrak won’t honor the Rail2Rail pass during holiday periods and Metrolink refuses to provide additional train runs or alternate transportation for its OC riders. A well-​oiled machine it is not. OC riders beware!

33 minutes from Union Station to CSULA on the. wait for it… EXPRESS train. According to your falsified schedule I should be home in 8 minutes. Unfortunately I’m 40 minutes away. I appreciate your f%%ked up service so much. Passengers should strike. Maybe then you will get your s%%t straight.

Recently metrolink changed it schedules and removed the most popular times from its routes. They said this was to remove track congestion. However we have been late in and out of Los Angeles everyday since they did this due mostly to you guessed it track congestion!
Now this morning we have a notice about a public hearing on possible fee increases.
Metrolink really needs to get its sh&t together!

I had high hopes when I purchased my first Metrolink monthly pass from Union Station to Anaheim, especially since it could also be used on Amtrak trains and the whopping $ 241 was subsidized by my employer. Unfortunately, it was unreliable and mindblowingly slow, making my entire journey clock in at about 2 hours each way. The lack of connecting transit options at my destination (as I’m guessing a lot of people would experience) made it necessary to drive my car to my destination at the beginning of the week and use it to commute from the station to my workplace until driving home on Friday. This got old fast.
The train schedules are not at all friendly if you are a commuter heading «against traffic». You can forget about taking Metrolink to nighttime events, as the train stops running long before you’d need to take it home.
The whole experience from the time you buy your ticket at the ridiculous kiosk (if it’s working) feels like a mass transit experience circa 1988. Just thinking about the «bleep bloop» sounds coming out of the machine makes my hair stand on end.
After about 5 months of these shenanigans, I realized that I dreaded the days I drove my car less than the days I took the train and I stopped renewing my monthly pass. I’m now driving to work in the comfort of my own (non freezing) car in about half the time it was taking on the train, able to control my own schedule and avoid the inevitable tension when some fool starts playing trombone music on the quiet car.
You’ve got a long way to go, Metrolink.

Train to Oceanside 608, car # 210 has no water in the restroom. I wonder if the health department or Department of building and safety Inspect Metrolink las they do other businesses.

First, a warning: I have been a public transit rider for many many years and ALWAYS plan my trip ahead of time because I don’t want to be stuck waiting an hour or more. That being said, on a really crappy day you could be stuck waiting an hour or more when stuff happens. The good news is that I have plenty to do when I have to wait, so I am never bored just sitting around.
I have ridden Metrolink since 1994 and I am a frequent rider. The ride is so comfortable compared to a bus and I love that I can take my bike with me too. Another big plus is that your Metrolink ticket is also good for trips to and from train stations on almost all public transit buses.
Of course like most experienced Metrolink riders, here are my 5 biggest complaints:
1. TVM machines that are always breaking down. (THIS IS HUGE)
2. Limited parking at many stations that keeps more people from riding. (ANOTHER BIGGIE)
3. Limited schedule outside of peak hours which keeps more people from riding.
4. A fare schedule that DOES NOT encourage people to do shorter trips.
5. NEED better customer service including more electronic apps to see next train; buy tickets online, etc.

I have been riding the Metrolink lately at 4:06 Am and going back at 8:30 Pm. I enjoy riding they more comfortable than a car. Special with my disabilities I have I can’t stand long and I can’t sit for along time. It very comfortable. Relaxing enjoying the ride.

A solid 3.
Pros:
— Clean trains.
— Every Metrolink employee I have encountered has been friendly and helpful.
— Clear schedule information on their website and in the stations.
— Angels Express trains that run to Angels Stadium on weekday game nights are awesome — you can get to the game and back to Union Station for $ 7, and avoid traffic and exorbitant parking fees at the stadium. The trains leave about 30 minutes after the last out, or at 11:30 — whichever comes first.
— Great connection to the LA County Fair on weekends — the train stops at a special platform by the fair, and you’re ferried over to the Yellow Gate by a shuttle bus.
Cons:
— Aside from the Angels Express and the $ 10 weekend pass, this is mucho dinero.
— No Angels Express trains on Saturdays or Sundays.
— They don’t seem to have enough trains to compensate when there are delays, so one late or broken down train fouls up the schedule for the rest of the day, it seems.
– There are so few trains on the weekend on most lines except San Bernardino that it’s all but useless. They advertise their $ 10 weekend pass as a way to daytrip around LA or OC county, but you can’t do that when there aren’t enough trains to get you where you need to go and back home again.
– The trains to and from Oceanside are NOT synched with the Coaster to San Diego. That’s kind of ridiculous.
If you want people to take the train, you have to have a train there for them to take. It’s that simple. Metrolink’s failing at this.

I like taking trains. It’s actually the first mode of transportation I’d pick over everything else. And in theory, Metrolink should be an ideal alternative from having to drive in the typical gridlock experienced on LA freeways.
Unfortunately, Metrolink comes up short. First it’s expensive, over $ 10 for a one way fare from LA to Rancho Cucamonga. Second and the biggest issue is that this train goes slow. I took the San Bernardino Line and it felt like the average speed was between 35 – 45 MPH during the whole trip. Over an hour from downtown LA to Rancho Cucamonga. Driving would be much faster in light traffic.
The only plus is that the cars are somewhat comfortable and the train was empty on my recent trip, so that does provide for a stress free ride.

I am very disgruntled if I could I would give negative 10 stars! We spend almost 800 bucks a month on commuter passes for the Max distance of 80 miles one way and what this entitles us to do is use our pass on either the San Bernardino, riverside or 91 line trains for equal or lesser distance. Tonight I was stopped by metrolink a incompetent Rent-​a-​cop while trying to get on the San Bernardino line with a riverside pass. I had to enlighten him on metrolinks policy and he had the nerve to say I don’t think you are right but I will let you go this one time… Go talk to the metrolink ambassador idiot! And while you are at it why don’t you do your job and throw off the unticketed passengers as well as those who are doing pot and other illegal substances in the bathroom! Why are you harassing your honest paying customers??? This is an escalated complaint!

I am livid with Metrolink.
I take Metrolink trains faithfully for over ten years. Today is the first time that something like this has happened– and it most certainly better be the last time.
I was waiting at the Fullerton station for the southbound Orange County line train that should have arrived at 4:50. 4:50 came and went, and no train ever came. I had been waiting since 4:27 so I knew it hadn’t passed early. 5:01 and the train finally arrived.
I was assured that this was the train I had been waiting for, that would take me down to tustin to meet my husband for an important event. As soon as the doors closed and I was on the train, however, an announcement was made that the next stop was not going to be Anaheim, as it should have been, but WEST CORONA– over an hour from Tustin!
I searched the train for a conductor or an employee to speak with, and after combing the train three times, was unable to find *any* Metrolink employee.
Because of Metrolink’s mistake, I was forced to miss not only the important event with my husband, in which I was going to have an opportunity to see my grandmother who is dying of cancer, but my husband had to waste time and gas driving out to West Covina from his job in Irvine to get me.

I am not sure what to rate it, 2 or 3, so let’s say 2.5, rounded up to 3.
I thought long and hard about this, because the IDEA of using mass transit really appeals to me, and I positively abhor driving in traffic. Which is driving in L.A., basically, because all times of the day or night, on any given freeway, you’ll be in traffic. Mind-​numbing, a$$ bending, psycho-​crazy t r a f f i c.
The thing is, like a lot of things in Los Angeles, this train is Expensive. I am looking at spending over 200.00 a month for about 20 days a month (that’s weekdays only) to get my dear baby girl to school from Inland Empire to Cal State LA. That’s with the student discount. 10.00 a day, you say, that’s nothing! But for a student, its a lot, and for a not-​so-​rich mama, its a lot. Luckily, we don’t need to add in parking. I look at all the commuters on the train and I wonder: how do they afford it? A car payment, insurance, parking, then this. Its a lot for the average working class schlub (me).
If you want, you can ride just one way, or round trip, buying a single ticket. An adult round-​trip sets you back 15.00. Now, if I compare that to Chicago, or NYC, that’s a LOT.
I can’t help but think a lot of its a ploy to get people out of their cars, permanently. Make it so you can’t afford both so you have to choose one. The thing is, the trains don’t run often at night, the thought of being stuck at the station without a car is terrifying… I think you still need a car in L.A. unless you live, work, shop and play near Metro stations and don’t mind living by their schedules.
Still, I am glad we have the option and hope they create less-​expensive ticket options and expanded service.