Rail Commuter Era Begins in L.A. : Metrolink: Trains carry 5,000 passengers from suburban stations on first day. No major glitches appear as service is launched with a week of free rides.

With the traditional train conductor’s cry of “All aboard!” Metrolink trains Monday began carrying thousands of passengers between Los Angeles and its suburbs, ushering Southern California into a new era of rapid mass transit.

Southern California Regional Rail Authority officials estimated that 5,000 passengers hopped aboard the shiny, double-decked trains, taking advantage of Metrolink’s free one-week introduction to race between downtown Los Angeles and suburban stations at speeds up to 79 m.p.h.

Before the morning commute ended, the trains had been blessed by a Catholic priest and serenaded by a high school marching band. And at one point, in a scene that illustrated what boosters say is Metrolink’s advantage over driving, the 7:26 a.m. train from Pomona cruised down the San Bernardino Freeway median past miles of cars bogged down in stop-and-go traffic.

Whether Metrolink did anything to relieve that congestion--as its backers have promised--was unclear. California Highway Patrol Officer Clarence Johnson said traffic appeared to be light on Monday, but within a normal range. He could not attribute the flow to any one factor. “It could be due to a number of things,” he said.

After the last of the morning’s distinctive trains pulled into Union Station on schedule at 8:55 a.m., mass transit officials celebrated the new service with unrestrained glee.

“The future of transportation in California is rail,” said Gary Hausdorfer, chairman of the Orange County Transportation Authority board.

Except for a pair of protesters who denounced Metrolink as a “boondoggle” that subsidizes affluent suburban commuters at the expense of transit-dependent bus riders, the opening day crowds who took the trains appeared to agree.

“The drive under normal conditions takes about as much time as the train, but if there is an accident it can take much longer,” said Mike DeVeau, a Claremont lawyer who has been commuting to Los Angeles for three weeks to try a civil case. “I’ve been late to court several times because of traffic. I should be on time today.”

From the time the first train departed--at 5:06 a.m. in Moorpark, on the line connecting Ventura County and downtown Los Angeles--until the last passenger left Union Station on a specially marked shuttle bus to his downtown destination, the system appeared to work without major glitches.

For some people, in fact, it worked too well.

Maroen Kentfield of Canyon Country scrambled for the 5:31 a.m. train out of Santa Clarita, which she had planned to take to her job at Disney Studios in Burbank. But the train doors closed just as she approached the platform.

“Five thirty-one,” she sighed, checking her wristwatch. “You don’t expect them to be on time the first day. Ah, well, I’ll make it tomorrow.” She then headed back to the parking lot to drive her car to work.

Passengers even said they liked the face-to-face seating in Metrolink’s coaches--a compliment that countered complaints voiced recently by commuters who rode Metrolink trains on loan to the Orange County Transportation Authority. Several Orange County commuters have warned that legroom in the new cars is lacking and hip room is too tight.

“This is nice. The seats are very comfortable,” said Della Stern, an executive secretary for Los Angeles County. Stern said she would gladly give up her crowded Southern California Rapid Transit District bus for the train.

Simi Valley resident Steve Shilts, a longtime railroad buff, dismissed complaints about the coaches being noisy and cramped. “These cars are not built for comfort,” he said. “They are not BMWs. They are designed to get you to work and back.”

Transit officials, who have predicted that the trains may ultimately take as many as 45,000 cars off the road, lauded the trains during opening day ceremonies and insisted that Metrolink will help all commuters get back and forth more easily.

“It’s a good day for commuters in Los Angeles. It is a good day for people who breathe the air,” said Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar), a mayoral candidate who helped organize state support for Metrolink. “Only in L.A. would we consider it innovative or revolutionary to take a train to work. People around the world have been doing it for years,” he added.

“We met one man who said goodby to his car this morning, then said goodby to the lady at the gas station,” said Regional Rail Authority board Chairwoman Jacki Bacharach.

The officials’ excitement was hardly dampened by a threat by Catellus Corp., which owns Union Station, to ban Metrolink commuters from its platforms starting next Monday unless the SCRRA agrees to pay an “equitable” share of maintenance, security and other overhead costs at the 53-year old terminal.

The Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, which has been negotiating on behalf of the commuter-rail agency, is scheduled to take up the issue at its regular monthly meeting on Wednesday.

Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, who joined Katz and other officials Monday at Union Station for opening ceremonies, took the opportunity to promote Proposition 156, a $1-billion rail bond on the Nov. 3 ballot that would raise money to expand rail transit around the state. A related $1-billion measure on the 1990 ballot helped fund Metrolink.

“Two years ago, we promised you that Metrolink would be running in two years; today, we’re on the day and on the dime,” Bradley said. “And just as we promised you two years ago that if you give us your vote we’d deliver (Metrolink), we’re asking you for your vote again on Nov. 3 for Proposition 156.”

Part of the money from Proposition 156 would finance the expansion of Metrolink. From the initial three lines that opened Monday in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, the network is designed to eventually span parts of four more counties, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego.

Riders who came in Monday from Pomona and the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys said they found that Metrolink’s travel times compared favorably with the freeways.

“It’s no fun being on the road,” said Bill Rushton of Chino Hills, who boarded a train in Pomona with his bicycle and planned to pedal from Union Station to his job near Chinatown.

“It’s an hour, easy, to drive in,” he added. “And if you run into (bad) weather or an accident, it can be an hour and a half, an hour and 45 minutes.”

His train pulled into Union Station on time at 8:20 a.m., 54 minutes after leaving Pomona.

Several riders took advantage of the train’s bicycle racks to bring their bikes on board, giving them the opportunity to avoid driving altogether.

“I’ve just had it. I am tired of driving in traffic,” said Phil Phillip of Santa Clarita. He said he planned to stop at the Burbank station and ride his bicycle a couple of miles to his aerospace job.

Other passengers echoed a distaste for driving.

“It’s just too much of a hassle to drive to work for an hour or an hour and a half,” said Jill Kato of Chino. Kato, who works downtown at Mitsubishi Trust as a bank loan officer, figured she could match that time on the train.

Several riders said they enjoyed the trains, but added that they were put off by Metrolink’s distance-based fares. Single round-trip fares range from $6 to $12 and monthly passes from $80 to $176.

Steven J. Smith, 42, a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who lives in Simi Valley and works in Burbank, said the cost of a monthly pass for his trip--$144--was too steep.

“I don’t think I’ll take it after this week because it’s too expensive,” Smith said. “I think it’s only really intended for people going downtown. That’s where the savings is.”

Other commuters, like Teresa Paoletta of Santa Clarita, said their employers have offered to subsidize their monthly passes. Paoletta said her company, Nestle USA in Glendale, has offered to reward its train-riding employees with discounts on company products.

“So there are a lot of pros, and not too many cons,” she said, noting that the train saves her a 45-minute drive in traffic. “It’s worth my while to investigate this option.”

Katz said other commuters may get financial help in January, when a new state law requires some firms to give cash “transportation allowances” to employees who do not drive to work. The law applies to companies that employ at least 50 people and lease parking for them, Katz said.

Ron Thompson, a longtime Santa Clarita resident, said he is willing to try the train even without a subsidy from his employer. He said he hopes that the train will allow him to get rid of his family’s second car.

“If this works out I can save a lot of money--up to $400 a month in the cost of gasoline, repairs and automobile insurance,” Thompson said as he prepared to board the 5:31 train to his job at a sheet-metal firm in Glendale.

Several riders wondered aloud why several trains slowed to a crawl as they approached Union Station. Metrolink officials said the delays--which did not last longer than a minute--were caused by the outdated switch and signal systems inherited from freight railroads.

New equipment is on order, Metrolink officials said, but it will be six to nine months before it is installed.

Despite the minor glitches, many riders said riding the train still beats fighting freeway traffic.

“My husband has been waiting for this for 36 years. He hates to drive,” said Cara Kean of Claremont, whose husband, Dennis, works in the garment district.

“I’ve been looking forward to the start of this service since I arrived in Los Angeles three years ago,” said Ephram Grail, a deputy district attorney who used to live in San Francisco and New York. “I think it’s wonderful.”

Times staff writers Hugo Martin, Carlos Lozano and Phil Sneiderman contributed to this report.