Some relief for Metrolink on the way

Trains have been very crowded as ridership has surged. But some extra seats may be coming. Metrolink spokesperson Denise Tyrrell just emailed:

"The Metrolink Board of Directors authorized Metrolink CEO David Solow to
lease additional equipment from both New Jersey Transit and Utah
transit.  Staff members will travel to New Jersey on July 11 to pick out
lease cars and finalize lease agreements with New Jersey.  I do not have
a timeline on Utah.

"New Jersey cars that are for lease were manufactured in the 70s.  (New
Jersey is replacing its fleet - hence surplus cars.) These cars will
have to be brought across country by freight train.  We will be using
them to relieve crowding until our new rail cars are available.  It's a
stop-gap measure that we hope will make our passengers more comfortable."

The Metrolink board took the action at Friday's meeting. Here's a link to its website, where you can find the meeting agenda.

It looks like the agency is about to lose some other rail cars it has leased from the commuter rail service in the Seattle area, which will cost it 1,752 passenger seats if not replaced, according to the board report. The leased cars from N.J. and Utah would prevent that and may add some seats.

--Steve Hymon

Comments

[Alan Fishel]

I understand that Metro North commuter service from NYC into Connecticut and Long Island has a fleet of retired M series commuter cars. Their condition seams good and they should be available at not much more than scrap prices. There may also be additional cars available form other cities that have upgraded their fleets.

The cars may not be up to the standards of the current MetroLink Fleet but they are air conditioned and it sure would beat standing from Lancaster or Oceanside.

[Bart Reed]

While Metrolink ridership is up, Diesel costs are up even more. So, yes there is a revenue increase, but farebox recovery is still about 48%. The recent Diesel fuel increases outstripped added revenue by about $1.5 million. So, yes the ridership gains are great, but the fuel costs are even more steep.

Metrolink actually did the right thing on equipment acquisition. They figured out what could be improved in Cab and Trailer Car design and purchased a new generation of much safer equipment several years ago. Because of the long lead time, the order procurement was 2 to 3 years ago. What do you do when you discover that the steel you plan to use in the new cab cars is being snapped up by the U.S. Military for armored vehicles in Iraq? Well, you change specs and you get a six month delay. The first order of new cars should be available by July-August 2009.

[Spokker]

New equipment is still on its way because Metrolink hasn't handled equipment acquisition as well as they should have. I like Metrolink but breakdowns occur more than they should and near service meltdowns aren't unheard of.

In any case, they are working toward 30 minute service on the Orange County Line but it doesn't look like Metrolink is running on all cylinders at the moment.

[Tony Fernandez]

Metrolink is doing very well, and I'm sure that they love that even though they increased fares that ridership is still increasing. Their farebox recovery must be great right now. So what will it take to increase service on many of the lines? Seems like it would be easy on all of the lines except for the San Bernardino Line, that will need some creative solutions.