Riverside Line Explained

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Riverside Line
Type:	Commuter rail
System:	Metrolink
Locale:	Greater Los Angeles Area and Inland Empire
Stations:	7
Daily Ridership:	1,237 (June 2023)^[1]
Open:	June 1993^[2]
Operator:	Metrolink
Character:	Elevated and surface-level
Speed:	(average)^[3]

Metrolink's Riverside Line is a commuter rail line running from in Downtown Los Angeles to Riverside along the Union Pacific Railroad. It runs weekday peak commuter hours only, with very little midday and reverse commute service.^[4] In 2011, the average weekday ridership was 5,161 passengers.^[5]

History

The Riverside Line, the fourth line to be introduced, was added to the Metrolink system in June 1993.^[6] This line featured Saturday service from June 2000 until January 2002, when it was cancelled due to low ridership. As of November 2021, the line has seven trains daily on weekdays only with reverse commute service temporarily eliminated in 2019, but revived with only one train per day as of 2021.

The Riverside Line can be used to get to Ontario International Airport; the East Ontario station has an airport shuttle served by Omnitrans Bus route 81 as of 2019, including discounted Lyft fares from the station.

As Metrolink trains along the Riverside Line share tracks with Union Pacific freight trains, delays of up to 90 minutes are not uncommon.^[7] 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.^[8]

Present decline

Ridership for the Riverside Line has gradually declined following the opening of the 91/Perris Valley Line in 2002.^[9] Much of the decline in service has been a direct result of competition with the 91/Perris Valley Line or San Bernardino Line, or track right-of-way disputes with Union Pacific. Planning of the line's route has also come into question later in its lifetime, as the line was not redirected to the north half of the Monte Vista Subdivision to possibly construct a station to directly serve Ontario International Airport, which was heavily renovated in 1998. As a result, many riders believe Metrolink has not made the line as much of a priority for frequent usage, which has shown in the decline of trains per day in recent schedule updates. As of 2022, the Riverside Line operates seven trains on weekdays only.

Stations

Station	Connections	Location<		-- Do not add addresses, they are listed on station pages -->
	Metrolink: Amtrak: Coast Starlight, Pacific Surfliner, Southwest Chief, Sunset Limited, Texas Eagle Metro: FlyAway to LAX Silver Streak	Los Angeles	Los Angeles County
		Montebello
		City of Industry
	Amtrak: Sunset Limited, Texas Eagle Silver Streak	Pomona
		Ontario	San Bernardino County
		Jurupa Valley	Riverside County
	Metrolink: Amtrak: Southwest Chief	Riverside

Demographics

In 2011, the average weekday ridership was 5,161 passengers, with 46 percent male and 54 percent female.^[5] Eighty-nine percent of riders used the line for work commutes.^[5] The median household income for riders was .^[5]

Ridership by ethnicity was evenly split:^[5]

• 27% Hispanic
• 27% Caucasian
• 21% Asian/Pacific Islander
• 19% African American
• 5% other

Accidents and Fatalities

Numerous accidents and deaths 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).^[10]
• On August 25, 1994, at 6:39 a.m., a Metrolink train struck a car containing three adults and an infant girl in Riverside, all occupants were killed.^[11]
• On September 27, 1994, a man was struck and killed by a Metrolink train in near the Montebello Station.^[12]
• On October 26, 1997, at 5:33 a.m., a 95-year-old, hearing-impaired man was hit and killed by a Riverside line train.^[13]
• On January 30, 2003, at 5:33 am, a clinically depressed 37-year-old man was killed by a Metrolink train when it collided with his car after being parked on a City of Industry rail crossing. The death was reported to be a suicide.^{[14] [15]}
• On March 9, 2005, a Union Pacific train crashed near Fullerton Road and Railroad Street in the City of Industry, derailing 21 rail cars and disrupting Metrolink service on the Riverside Line.^[16] The crash was caused by a broken track.^[17]
• 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.^[18]
• On November 9, 2008, at 2:25 p.m., a 44-year old man was struck and killed by a train in Jurupa Valley.^[19]
• On September 5, 2013, at 9:21 a.m., a man was struck and killed by westbound train #409 at the Hamilton Boulevard grade crossing, about a half-mile west of the downtown Pomona station.^[20]
• On April 5, 2016, at around 6:20 a.m., man was struck and killed by a Union Pacific train in Montclair, delaying Metrolink service for up to 3 hours.^[21]
• On September 9, 2016, at around 4:30 a.m., a woman was struck and killed by a train near the Montebello station in what was believed to be a suicide.^{[22] [23]}
• On July 24, 2017, at 2:45 p.m., a man identified as 40 year old Frederico Duran of Long Beach was struck and killed off of the Archibald Ave crossing in Ontario, the death was later determined to be a suicide.^[24]
• On March 29, 2018, at 2:19 p.m., a Woman was struck and killed by eastbound Metrolink train 402 at the Campus Ave crossing in Ontario.^[25]
• On June 12, 2018, a woman was killed after her car was struck by a train at the Archibald Ave Crossing in Ontario.^[26]
• On August 16, 2018, at 4:30 am, Pomona police officers responded to a call after the bodies of two homeless men were found at the Downtown-Pomona station. The bodies were later identified as 37-year old Robert Salinas Jr and 31-year old Jeremy Alexander Henness. Both men were found to have received multiple gunshot wounds on the South platform of the Pomona station. Ontario police officers later apprehended Amtrak engineer Christopher Matthew Peterson as the sole suspect in the murders. He was later charged in connection with the shootings and is currently awaiting sentencing.^{[27] [28]}
• On October 5, 2018, at 1:45pm, the body of an unidentified homeless woman was found near the tracks under the Temple Ave overpass in Diamond Bar.^[29]
• On May 31, 2019, at around 2:00 p.m., a 22 year old woman later identified as Evelyn Gamarro was killed by an oncoming Metrolink train traveling at approximately 60 mph near Buena Vista Avenue in Pomona. Local authorities later determined the death to be a suicide based on witness reports.^{[30] [31]}
• On December 21, 2022, at 9:03 a.m., a man was struck and killed by a westbound Amtrak train in Pomona, cancelling all westbound Metrolink trains, resulting in Metro offering reimbursements to multiple passengers.^[32]
• On May 14, 2023 at 5:30 a.m., an unidentified pedestrian was struck and killed by a freight train in Pomona, delaying Metrolink service up to 3 hours due to the ongoing investigation.^[33]
• On May 17, 2023, 37-year old Jaqueline Sweet was struck and killed by an inbound Riverside Line train near Commerce and 3rd Street in Downtown Riverside.^[34]
• On June 5, 2023, at 5:20 p.m., a 22-year old man was hit by an inbound train in Riverside adjacent to the Iowa Avenue crossing. The man was later identified as Samuel Lissy of Riverside.^[35]
• On June 23, 2023, at 10:28p.m., an unidentified homeless individual was struck and killed by a Union Pacific freight train adjacent to the Temple Ave crossing in Diamond Bar. Amtrak service was affected as outbound trains were delayed up to 4 hours.^[36]

See also

• Metro Local (Los Angeles County) – local transfer bus routes
• Riverside Transit Agency – local transfer bus routes

External links

• Metrolink Schedules

Notes and References

1. Web site: June 30, 2023 . Quarterly Fact Sheet Q4 2022-2023 . November 3, 2023 . Metrolink.
2. News: Rail System Ends 1st Year on Upswing. Curtiss. Aaron. 27 October 1993. Los Angeles Times. 26 October 2012.
3. Web site: Metrolink Fact Sheet for June 2012. Metrolink. 26 October 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20151222164705/http://www.metrolinktrains.com/pdfs/Facts%26Numbers/Fact_Sheets/Fact_Sheet_June_2012_Q4.pdf. 22 December 2015.
4. Web site: Metrolink Timetable. June 6, 2016. August 12, 2016.
5. Web site: Riverside Line 2011 Demographics Fact Sheet. 2011. Metrolink. 26 October 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120630064707/http://www.metrolinktrains.com/pdfs/Facts%26Numbers/Fact_Sheets/RL_Demographics_Fact_Sheet_2011.pdf. 30 June 2012.
6. Metrolink: The commuter railroad serving Los Angeles . . Matt . Van Hattem . June 30, 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070929095956/https://www.trains.com/trn/default.aspx?c=a&id=401 . September 29, 2007.
7. News: As O.C. Balks, Riverside Rail Proposal in Peril. Morin. Monte. 13 January 2003. Los Angeles Times. 26 October 2012.
8. News: Freight vs. Folks on Lone Rail Line. Weikel. Dan. 15 May 2005. Los Angeles Times. 26 October 2012.
9. Web site: Consulting Services for Metrolink Origin Studies 2018.
10. News: Pedestrian Killed by Train Near Ontario Airport. 31 December 1993. Los Angeles Times. 26 October 2012.
11. Web site: Metrolink Train hits Car, 4 Killed.
12. Web site: 2 Men Killed by Metrolink Trains in Separate Incidents.
13. News: Girls' Deaths Renew Rail Safety Debate. Simon. Richard. 26 October 1997. Los Angeles Times. 26 October 2012.
14. News: 2 Metrolink Deaths Believed to Be Suicides. 31 January 2003. Los Angeles Times. 26 October 2012.
15. News: Teen Killed by Metrolink Train. Becerra. Hector. 6 February 2003. Los Angeles Times. 26 October 2012.
16. News: 21 Freight-Train Cars Derail. Thermos. Wendy. 9 March 2005. Los Angeles Times. 26 October 2012.
17. News: Broken Track Blamed in Freight Train Derailment. Thermos. Wendy. 10 March 2005. Los Angeles Times. 26 October 2012.
18. News: Man killed by Metrolink train. Silverstein. Stuart. 14 December 2006. Los Angeles Times. 26 October 2012.
19. Web site: Riverside Man Struck By Metrolink Train Dies.
20. Web site: Pedestrian Hit, Killed by Metrolink Train in Central Pomona.
21. Web site: Metrolink’s Riverside Line Delayed Following Fatal Train Crash.
22. Web site: Montebello Woman Killed by Train.
23. Web site: Train Kills Woman in Montebello, Streets Closed.
24. Web site: Man struck by Metrolink train in Ontario is identified.
25. Web site: Woman Fatally Struck by Metrolink was from Ontario.
26. Web site: Woman dead after Metrolink train hits car in Ontario. 12 June 2018.
27. Web site: Amtrak Engineer found Guilty in murder of Homeless men.
28. Web site: Amtrak Engineer pleads not guilty to fatally shooting 2 homeless men at Pomona Train Station.
29. Web site: Body of Homeless Woman found on Metrolink Tracks.
30. Web site: 22-year-old Pomona woman killed by Metrolink train in apparent suicide.
31. Web site: Evelyn Gamarro (22) stepped in front of a train that was moving at 60 mph.
32. Web site: Metrolink shuts down tracks after Amtrak train hits person.
33. Web site: Pedestrian found dead under freight train in Pomona.
34. Web site: Woman Struck, Killed By Metrolink Train Was Riverside Resident.
35. Web site: Investigation Underway into Death of Man Struck by Metrolink Train.
36. Web site: Pomona, CA: Pedestrian Fatally Struck by Train in Pomona.