It’s a kick to see the A Line train now running to Pomona, La Verne, San Dimas and Glendora. I can be driving on, say, Arrow Highway in La Verne and have a Metro train pacing me.
The new 9-mile segment opened last September, and as I’ve written, the four stations combined were averaging 3,038 passengers a day in February.
I wrote here about riding the A Line from Pomona to downtown L.A. to eat lunch at Philippe. It seemed like a good way to introduce some of you to the train by choosing a popular destination.
In doing so, I posed a few questions: Have you taken the A Line yet? If so, for what purpose, and how was your experience? What are the pluses and minuses compared to Metrolink?
Some 30 responses rolled in like trains. Those who have taken the Metro A Line mostly enjoyed the experience. Same with Metrolink, the heavy rail trains. For the uninitiated, despite the similar names these are separate services run by separate agencies.
Robert Dukes of Pomona took his 16-year-old grandson to Philippe on the A Line days before my own trip. The teen had never been to the French dip restaurant. His grandfather first ate there in 1952.
“It was our first time on the A Line and I was favorably impressed,” Dukes said. “A lot less expensive and better timetable than the alternative.”
“Metrolink is cleaner and more spacious. The only bad part is that it passes through some crummy cities,” Emanuel Najera says. “The A Line’s only advantage over the Metrolink San Bernardino Line is that it passes through Pasadena and it’s more frequent. The negatives are the crazy people who get on the train.”
I hope Emanuel isn’t referring to me.
“Took the A train and Dodger Express to the game,” Leslie James of Ontario reports, referring to the free shuttle from Union Station, “and though it was a long day, it was seamless and a lot more affordable than parking at Dodger Stadium.”
“We ride it from San Dimas to South Pasadena and other destinations,” says Ed Rivas of the former municipality, “and we love having the train in our city!”
As you noted, the A Line goes through the foothill cities, then continues through downtown L.A. and all the way to Long Beach without the need to change trains. Metrolink’s San Bernardino Line train typically runs once per hour, a straight shot between San Bernardino and Union Station.
(There are other Metrolink trains, including two that originate in Riverside or Perris, but I’m focusing on the convergence of trains at the Pomona North station.)
The pricing and comfort on the two lines are very different too.
On the A Line, it’s $3.50 for a round trip — for seniors age 62 and up, a mere 70 cents round trip — and trains generally run every 10 minutes. You can go all the way to Long Beach for that price if you like.
On Metrolink, round trips are $10 on weekends and $15 on weekdays. Seniors 65 and up ride for half price. The trains, akin to Amtrak, are more comfortable and, unlike on the A Line, you can bring food or beverages. And also unlike the A Line, Metrolink has restrooms.
“The A Line is more frequent and may get you closer to your destination,” Hank Fung says. “The Metrolink is less frequent, a little faster, a lot more comfortable, but unless your destination is directly at Union Station you will have to walk more or transfer.”
“The only reason I like the Metrolink is that it has a bathroom and is a little more roomy,” Tony Vasquez says. “For one-fourth of the cost, I’d rather ride the A Line.”
Tom Baker of Upland has been taking the A Line from Pomona to Pasadena after finding a good French restaurant a block from the Memorial Park station. It’s been a few years since he’s taken Metrolink.
“Metro is way cheaper and way more frequent,” Baker says. “However, a big drawback to the Metro A Line is the lack of bathrooms. If you’re traveling from Pomona to Long Beach as a senior and/or with small children, you’re likely to need facilities.”
The official travel time is 2 hours, 12 minutes. Plan accordingly.
Carolyn Hemming asks about getting back home from Dodger Stadium. The A Line is far more conducive than Metrolink in that regard.
The A Line’s last departure from Union Station is at 11:45 p.m. Metrolink’s last eastbound train, meanwhile, is at 9:38 p.m.
In other words, you’d have to see a day game to take Metrolink home, if you wanted all nine innings. At night you’d need to leave after six or seven innings. (Some Dodger fans: “So what’s the problem?”)
Glenn Olsen of Riverside and a friend saw Game 4 of the World Series via Metrolink from San Bernardino. The game was over in time, but the Dodger Express buses got mired in World Series traffic. “We didn’t make it to Union Station before the train left,” Olsen laments.
Instead, the friends took the A Line to Pomona and then an Uber from Pomona to San Bernardino for an additional $60 — ouch.
“Next time I see a Dodgers night game I will take the A train, unless Metrolink adds a later departure to the SB Line,” Olsen vows.
With Metrolink having recently cut service, I think wishing for a later train is the transit equivalent of the baseball fan’s perennial “wait’ll next year.”
Jim Moak of San Dimas and his wife take the A Line to Pasadena to shop and eat. When they want to go to downtown L.A., they ride Metrolink from Claremont due to its speed.
“We would take the A Line more and stop at different places if we knew what was within walking distance of those stops,” Moak says. He wishes more businesses would advertise their proximity to the stations.
Gerald Collier of Claremont makes a similar point. “Metro spent millions of dollars” — actually, $1.5 billion — “to build the A Line extension but spent very little in promoting the service,” Collier asserts. “So, Metro, make the light rail work by telling the populace how great and wonderful riding the A Line can be.”
In the meantime, here’s my own story.
My SCNG colleague Grace Reaza’s retirement lunch last Wednesday was in Arcadia at a restaurant that is, providentially, two blocks from the A Line station.
I drove from Claremont to Pomona, paid $3 to park, boarded the train for 35 cents, then turned around after lunch and repeated the steps.
All told, my round trip from Pomona was 38 miles. Cost: $3.70, less than the cost of a tank of gas.
I did see one crazy person, but it was my reflection in the window.
David Allen writes Sunday, Wednesday and Friday, reflectively. Email dallen@scng.com, phone 909-483-9339, and follow davidallencolumnist on Facebook or Instagram, @davidallen909 on X or @davidallen909.bsky.social on Bluesky.