South OC Metro Rail? (Los Angeles, San Diego: cabins, authority, train)

[JMadison]

Anyone ridden the line from say Irvine south to Oceanside?

What's it like? Awful like trains and subways in the Northeast (thinking Philly, NYC)? I doubt it's as bad as that, but curious what I'd run into if I decided to do a little touring via Metro Rail down around the south end of the line.

For that matter, anyone take the trip to the north and hooked up with the Surfliner? What's the section in the middle like, from say Anahiem to the other side of L.A. (Suspect that is more like the crud lines of the northeast.)

Yeah, I know they crash them alot, LOL!

[Charles]

Is this type of train used for commuting or for traveling, like on vacation? If for commuting, what are the approximate costs?

[JMadison]

Originally Posted by Charles

Is this type of train used for commuting or for traveling, like on vacation? If for commuting, what are the approximate costs?

Metrolink :: Welcome

[missionhome]

South OC does not have "Metro Rail." Metro Rail is the division of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority or "Metro" that operates light rail and subway trains in Los Angeles County. Orange County DOES NOT have light rail or a subway.

The trains that operate in Orange County are by METROLINK. It is a separate agency and operates commuter rail service mainly in the morning and evening for people going to work. The trains are usually double decker trains, kept very very clean with nice cabins. It is not as old or cramped as a service like the Long Island Railroad or Metro North in the NYC area. The vast majority of the people on the trains are going to work and are in business clothing, working on laptops, talking on cell phones, ect...

The section between San Clemente and Oceanside is beautiful as the train runs right along the ocean giving you excellent views of the coast. San Juan Capistrano is an interesting place to get off at to see its old station, historic mission, and downtown.

-I'm a little confused about the routing you asked about though. You don't need to head north of Irvine to get the Amtrak Surfliner. The Surfliner has stops at Irvine Station, San Juan Capistrano station, and San Clemente station and runs all the way from San Diego's downtown to Los Angeles' downtown. You can catch that train right in Irvine.
-The stretch from Anaheim to L.A. on Metrolink has the same trains and same type of service and customers. Still newer and clean trains, and mainly business people. The view out the windows isn't as pretty as the area through the gateway cities to L.A. is mainly industrial, but its not like the trains suddenly become small and dirty like Metro North or something.

Clean Metrolink Cabin:

[JMadison]

Hmm.... Sorry for calling it Metro Rail if it's really called Metro Link. Not sure how I managed that.

As for Surfliner, one of the interactive maps gave me the impression that only the section above Santa Barbara was "officially" the Surfliner. Prior to that map I had thought the Surfliner ran a much longer stretch of the coast.

Just started research this morning, so I'm still trying to get a handle on it.

Suffice to say, my experience with commuter trains in the N.E. was such that the idea of using them for recreational travel never struck me as a fun idea, LOL!

[missionhome]

Originally Posted by JMadison

As for Surfliner, one of the interactive maps gave me the impression that only the section above Santa Barbara was "officially" the Surfliner. Prior to that map I had thought the Surfliner ran a much longer stretch of the coast.

The Surfliner runs from San Luis Obispo to San Diego through Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. The core of the route though is the trains operating between San Diego and Los Angeles where there are 11 roundtrips and the trains do not operate north of L.A.. Trains with a operating number starting with a "5" only run between San Diego and Los Angeles. Trains with a "7" operate the complete route from San Luis Obispo down to San Diego.