Orange County Line

The Orange County Line began on April 30, 1990 as the Orange County Commuter, an Amtrak-operated service between Los Angeles and San Juan Capistrano funded by the Orange County Transportation Authority.[4][5] The Orange County Commuter made a single weekday round-trip, departing San Juan Capistrano in the morning and returning in the evening.[6] Between July and December 1993 during the Orange County Commuter's final months, both the Commerce and Orange Transportation Center stations opened. Amtrak conveyed the route to Metrolink on March 28, 1994, becoming the "Orange County Line" and Metrolink's fifth route.[7][8] Service expanded to eight trips in 1995.[9]

In October 2005, the Orange County Transportation Authority announced that it would increase service on the Orange County Line, running trains twenty hours daily, seven days a week every 30 minutes. The first part of the additional service was implemented in June 2006 with Saturday service, and July 2006 with Sunday service. The plan has drawn criticism as many Metrolink stations are located beyond walking distance from important destinations such as Disneyland and the adjacent Anaheim Convention Center, Knott's Berry Farm, and the Irvine Spectrum. Funds for new rolling stock and track improvements were allocated from the voter-approved Measure M half-cent sales tax, while critics had advocated using the money for bus operations or other transit service instead. To address some of these issues, OCTA operates a series of Stationlink shuttle routes that connect Metrolink stations in Orange County to nearby destinations.

As of 2019 service is provided seven days a week, with 29 trains on weekdays, and 8 on weekends. The Amtrak Pacific Surfliner supplements Orange County Line service by providing limited stop service along the corridor and more service during mid-days, nights and weekends.

While the Orange County Line shares trackage with Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner trains, its northernmost stations (from Los Angeles to Fullerton, excluding Commerce) are shared with the 91 Line and nearly all of its other stations with the Inland Empire–Orange County Line (from Orange to Oceanside).

The Orange County Line runs on the BNSF Railway's Southern Transcon track between Los Angeles and Fullerton, under a shared-right-of-way agreement. Several stations, most notably the ones in downtown Fullerton and Santa Ana, are renovated Spanish Colonial Revival depots originally built by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Sections of the line between Santa Ana and Oceanside allow for 90-mile-per-hour (140 km/h) operating speeds.[1]

Under Amtrak operation the Orange County Commuter stopped at the following stations: Los Angeles, Commerce, Fullerton, Anaheim–Stadium, Orange, Santa Ana, Irvine, and San Juan Capistrano.[11] With the Metrolink takeover in 1994 the southern terminus moved to Oceanside and five infill stations were subsequently added:[12] San Clemente and Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs in 1995,[13][14] Tustin and Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo in 2002,[15][16] and Buena Park in 2007[17]

Station	Connections	Location
L.A. Union Station	Metrolink: 91/Perris Valley Antelope Valley Riverside San Bernardino Ventura County Amtrak: Coast Starlight, Pacific Surfliner, Southwest Chief, Sunset Limited, Texas Eagle Metro:  A Line  B Line  D Line  J Line FlyAway to LAX	Los Angeles	Los Angeles County
Commerce (limited service)		Commerce
Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs	Metrolink: 91/Perris Valley	Norwalk
Buena Park	Metrolink: 91/Perris Valley	Buena Park	Orange County
Fullerton	Metrolink: 91/Perris Valley Amtrak: Pacific Surfliner, Southwest Chief	Fullerton
Anaheim	Amtrak: Pacific Surfliner	Anaheim
Orange	Metrolink: Inland Empire-Orange County	Orange
Santa Ana	Metrolink: Inland Empire-Orange County Amtrak: Pacific Surfliner	Santa Ana
Tustin	Metrolink: Inland Empire-Orange County	Tustin
Irvine	Metrolink: Inland Empire-Orange County Amtrak: Pacific Surfliner	Irvine
Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo	Metrolink: Inland Empire-Orange County	Laguna Niguel
San Juan Capistrano	Metrolink: Inland Empire-Orange County Amtrak: Pacific Surfliner	San Juan Capistrano
San Clemente	Metrolink: Inland Empire-Orange County	San Clemente
San Clemente Pier (weekends only)	Metrolink: Inland Empire-Orange County Amtrak: Pacific Surfliner
Oceanside	Metrolink: Inland Empire-Orange County Amtrak: Pacific Surfliner Coaster Sprinter	Oceanside	San Diego County

The October 2017 timetable shows ten weekday trains from Los Angeles to Oceanside and back, eight from Fullerton to Laguna Niguel and back, seven from Los Angeles to Laguna Niguel and back, four from Fullerton to Oceanside, and two from Los Angeles to Irvine and back.

Passengers that have monthly passes can use Pacific Surfliner trains between their station pairs on any day except for specific blacked out days by Amtrak for holidays and special events (such as events at Del Mar) on this line.

• Transportation in San Diego County

• Orange County Line schedule