Metrolink in 3 Minutes

This article provides a brief overview of the SoCal regional rail system Metrolink. It is part of a series that provides short guides to different governmental transportation organizations in LA and CA.

Formal Name: Southern California Regional Rail Authority

Year Formed: 1991

Budget: $263 million

Staff: 800

What Metrolink Does: Metrolink operates a regional rail system with seven lines that cover five counties in Southern California. (Technically six counties, since two lines touch the northern part of San Diego County.)

Here is a map of the Metrolink system:

Metrolink is not to be confused with Metro, which operates LA County’s rail and bus systems. Metrolink is a commuter rail system that serves longer trips throughout the region, in particular trips that take people to work and back.

Metrolink has larger trains with comfortable chairs that have schedules and require you to buy a ticket. Their trains are less useful for doing things like running errands or making shorter trips.

Additionally, Metrolink should not be confused with AMTRAK, the national train organization that runs train routes all over the country and shares some of Metrolink’s rail lines.

History

Metrolink service began service with three lines in 1992 after they purchased the right to use three rail lines from freight companies. Metrolink would add the rights to use more lines over the years, including a large expansion after the 1994 Northridge earthquake, and it would benefit from its connection to an expanding Metro rail system. As you can see from the map above, every Metrolink route except one links up to Union Station in the city of Los Angeles.

Historically, Metrolink’s efforts to increase service on its rail routes are complicated by the fact that it is only a tenant of its tracks and thus cannot make decisions like how many trains to run and when to run them on its own.

Current Operations

Metrolink is Joint Powers Authority (JPA), which means a group of different governmental bodies joined together to govern Metrolink. This form of governance often occurs in situations where a proposed transportation entity cuts across the geographic lines of several different jurisdictions.

Metrolink is governed by an 11-member board consisting of elected officials throughout the region that Metrolink serves.

Metrolink used to be headquartered at Union Station with Metro, but in 2019 they moved into the new Wilshire Grand building in downtown LA, where they now share a building with SCAG, another regional organization dealing with transportation.

Metrolink is a much smaller system than Metro, both in budget and it hours of service. Interestingly, while Metro’s buses and rail lines have experienced serious ridership declines in recent years, Metrolink’s ridership has increased recently.

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