Here’s the news release issued today by Metrolink, the commuter rail agency partially funded by Metro:
Los Angeles – Metrolink will roll ten “bike cars” into regular service just in time for CicLAvia. Bike cars are passenger railcars outfitted with space for between 18 and 24 bicycles, instead of two slots like other railcars. The agency hopes this will encourage more Southern Californians to take the train to their destination by giving them a way to get to and from the train station by accommodating more bicycles.
To create the new bicycle cars, Metrolink crews removed 29 passenger seats on the bottom level of one of its railcars that traditionally seats up to 149 people. Bicycle cars can be identified by yellow decals located on the outside of the rail car.
Metrolink used in-house resources to design and retrofit existing cars with additional storage for bicycles. The agency coordinated with bicycle advocates on the design, which was ultimately approved by the Federal Railroad Administration.
In August, Metrolink piloted two “bicycle cars” on the Inland-Empire line weekend beach trains. All of the bike cars will rotate throughout the 512-mile service area where the need for additional service space is greatest. Metrolink will add more bicycle cars in the future if the demand grows.
On Sunday, October 9, CicLAvia will transform 10 miles of L.A.’s streets into a car-free, safe, family-friendly place and citywide block party. CicLAvia is free and welcomes people of all ages and interests to get out of their cars and experience the city in a whole new way, from sneakers to stilts and bikes to trikes.
For more information, or to download maps and walking tours, please visit www.ciclavia.org
ABOUT METROLINK
Metrolink is Southern California’s regional commuter rail service in its 19th year of operation. The Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA), a joint powers authority made up of an 11-member board representing the transportation commissions of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties, governs the service. Metrolink operates over seven routes through a six-county, 512 route-mile network. Metrolink is the third largest commuter rail agency based on directional route miles and the seventh largest based on annual ridership.
Categories: Bicycle
Metro did a great job handling all the cyclists on Sunday. Many thanks to all the patient train drivers, extra staff at the stations, and those behind the scenes.
The Goldline was jammed packed but everyone made it work and it spoke really well for Metro and the staff. Your hard work was greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone!
[…] Metrolink Added More Bike Cars for CicLAvia, But They’re Staying for Good (The Source) […]
I found most of the cyclists to be courteous and move their bikes to let anyone who wanted to sit, sit… There were a lot of bikes and it was encouraging to see that. I would say that I would like to see an easier way to take bikes up and down TO the trains. Easier access rather than lugging bikes through narrow turnstiles or up and down escalators (or at Civic Center–stairs only). Once on the platforms, the bike-ready cars were fairly ample if everyone was tolerant, courteous and accommodating. The worst I heard was that the Orange Line was overly filled with bikes in the early going but I did not witness that myself. All in all, a great job by Metro and the city! More of these events would be great!!!
On the Metro most cyclists totally ignore the posted regulations and spaces designed for them. They sit where they want to sit, take up too many seats run into other passengers. Bike cars may or may not encourage cyclists, but enforcing the existing rules about bikes on the train would be a huge step in the right direction.