Riverside Line (Metrolink)

     Riverside Line

View from the tracks at the Pomona station
Overview
Type Commuter rail line
System Metrolink
Status Operating
Locale Greater Los Angeles Area and Inland Empire
Termini Los Angeles Union Station
Riverside
Stations 7
Daily ridership 5,161 (2011)
Operation
Opening June 1993[1]
Operator(s) Metrolink
Character Elevated and surface-level
Technical
Line length 59.1 miles (95.1 km)
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Operating speed 41 miles per hour (66 km/h)[2]
Route map
Legend
     Antelope Valley,      Ventura County Lines
Union Station
     San Bernardino Line
     91,      Orange County Lines
Montebello/Commerce
Industry
Downtown Pomona
East Ontario
Pedley
     91,      Inland Empire-Orange County Lines
Riverside-Downtown
     Inland Empire-Orange County Line

Metrolink's Riverside Line is a commuter rail running from Los Angeles Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles to Riverside, California along the Union Pacific Railroad. It runs weekday peak commuter hours only, with very little midday and reverse commute service. In 2011, the average weekday ridership was 5,161 passengers.[3]

The Riverside Line, the fourth line to be introduced, was added to the Metrolink system in June 1993.[4] This line featured Saturday service from June 2000 until January 2002, when it was cancelled due to low ridership. As of July 2011, the line has six trains each way on weekdays.

As Metrolink trains share tracks with freight trains, delays of up to 90 minutes are not uncommon.[5] In April 2005, morning westbound trains arrived on schedule 90% of the time, while those headed east during the evening arrived on schedule only 72% of the time.[6]

Stations

The stations on this line include:

  1. Union Station, Los Angeles
  2. Montebello/Commerce, Montebello
  3. Industry, City of Industry
  4. Downtown Pomona, Pomona
  5. East Ontario, California
  6. Pedley, Riverside
  7. Riverside-Downtown, Riverside

Demographics

In 2011, the average weekday ridership was 5,161 passengers, with 46% male and 54% female.[3] 89% of riders used the line for work commutes.[3] The median household income for riders was US$86,028.[3]

Ridership by ethnicity was evenly split:[3]

Accidents

Several accidents have occurred on the Riverside Line since its inception. On December 30, 1993, around 6:15 pm, a pedestrian was killed in a collision with a Metrolink train near Bon View Avenue and Mission Boulevard (adjacent to Ontario International Airport).[7]

In 1997, a 95-year-old, hearing-impaired man was hit and killed by a train as he crossed the Riverside Line.[8] At 5:33 am on January 30, 2003, a clinically depressed 37-year-old man was killed in a Metrolink train collision at City of Industry rail crossing, in a suicide.[9][10]

On March 9, 2005, a Union Pacific train crashed near Fullerton Road and Railroad Street, derailing 21 rail cars and disrupting Metrolink service on the Riverside Line.[11] The crash was caused by a broken track.[12]

On December 13, 2006, at 4:40 p.m., a Metrolink train struck a man standing on the tracks near the Pomona Freeway and 7th Avenue, between Metrolink's Montebello/Commerce and Industry stations.[13]

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ Curtiss, Aaron (27 October 1993). "Rail System Ends 1st Year on Upswing". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
  2. ↑ "Metrolink Fact Sheet for June 2012" (PDF). Metrolink. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Riverside Line 2011 Demographics Fact Sheet" (PDF). Metrolink. 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
  4. ↑ TRAINS Magazine - Railroad News, Web Cam, Railroading Video - Metrolink
  5. ↑ Morin, Monte (13 January 2003). "As O.C. Balks, Riverside Rail Proposal in Peril". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
  6. ↑ Weikel, Dan (15 May 2005). "Freight vs. Folks on Lone Rail Line". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
  7. ↑ "Pedestrian Killed by Train Near Ontario Airport". Los Angeles Times. 31 December 1993. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
  8. ↑ Simon, Richard (26 October 1997). "Girls' Deaths Renew Rail Safety Debate". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
  9. ↑ "2 Metrolink Deaths Believed to Be Suicides". Los Angeles Times. 31 January 2003. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
  10. ↑ Becerra, Hector (6 February 2003). "Teen Killed by Metrolink Train". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
  11. ↑ Thermos, Wendy (9 March 2005). "21 Freight-Train Cars Derail". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
  12. ↑ Thermos, Wendy (10 March 2005). "Broken Track Blamed in Freight Train Derailment". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
  13. ↑ Silverstein, Stuart (14 December 2006). "Man killed by Metrolink train". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 26 October 2012.