LOS ANGELES - Metrolink earned six AdWheel awards, including a pair of Grand Prize Awards, presented by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). The announcement was made at the APTA Annual Meeting earlier this month in Houston. The awards recognize public transportation systems and APTA business members for excellence in advertising, communications, marketing and promotion.

Hundreds of entries competed this year in the five categories of print media, electronic media, campaigns, special events, and social media. First place honors were awarded in various subcategories for each of the five groups, based on system size. Grand Prize Award winners were chosen from those first place winners in each group.

"Our core goal is to safely transport passengers to their desired destination comfortably and on time, but there a number of ways to successfully communicate Metrolink's services and options," said Michel P. DePallo, Metrolink's Chief Executive Officer. "These awards validate and recognize the hard work, professionalism and effectiveness of our marketing, communications, and safety staff. This honor acknowledges creative excellence and I'm very proud of their accomplishments."

In the Group 2 competition (comprised of public transportation systems with more than four million but fewer than 20 million annual passenger trips), Metrolink won grand prize awards for Metrolink "Smarty" passenger car in the Illustrated Vehicle category as part of the agency's larger safety campaign, as well as for its Metrolink Facebook page in the Social Media category.

The agency also received first place awards for the I-5 Traffic/Commuter Incentive Program in the Radio Advertisement or Public Service Announcement category; and for the University station poster in the Poster category. Click the hyperlinks for details of the winning entries:

http://www.metrolinktrains.com/i5/

www.facebook.com/Metrolink

http://www.metrolinktrains.com/news/news_item/news_id/849.html

http://metrolinktrains.com/news/promotions_detail/title/student_discount

ABOUT METROLINK (www.metrolinktrains.com)

Metrolink is Southern California's regional commuter rail service in its 22nd 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 in the United States based on directional route miles, and the eighth largest based on annual ridership.

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