LOS ANGELES - Metrolink is partnering with Metro to provide special train service to the Los Angeles Dodgers versus Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim interleague play on March 27 & 28 and August 4 & 5 at Dodger Stadium. This is the second year the special Rail Series train service will be offered through a special grant from the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC).

Special $7 round-trip tickets can be purchased the day of game at the ticket machines along the Orange County Line. Fans attending one of the Rail Series games will board Metrolink Orange County Line train 609 or 689 to Los Angeles Union Station. From Union Station, fans will board the Dodger Stadium Express shuttle to Dodger Stadium at no additional cost. Following the game, fans will ride the Dodger Stadium Express back to Union Station to board the special Metrolink train making all station stops, except Commerce, back to Oceanside. The Rail Series special train will depart L.A. Union Station one hour after the end of the game.

Fans can also take regular service on Metrolink's San Bernardino Line throughout the season to the Dodger Stadium Express bus service. Trains leave Los Angeles Union Station as late as 11 p.m. weekdays, 11:30 p.m. on Saturdays and 9 p.m. on Sundays. For exact schedules and departure times, visit www.metrolinktrains.com.

"Metrolink is excited to partner with the folks from Metro and the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee to provide the special trains for fans to attend Dodger games," said Metrolink Board Chair and Highland Mayor Pro Tem Larry McCallon. "In addition to the special trains from Orange County, I know people from the Inland Empire have historically taken Metrolink to Union Station and jumped on the Dodger Stadium Express shuttle to enjoy a game. I certainly plan on trying to make that trip this season to cheer on the Dodgers."

This is the fifth year in a row Metro is offering the Dodger Stadium Express bus service from Union Station to Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers' 2014 season kicks off on Opening Day against the San Francisco Giants on Friday, April 4.

"We are ecstatic to be once again offering this service to the people of Los Angeles County and beyond," said Metro Board Chair and Lakewood City Council member Diane DuBois. "In past years, fans from all over have taken advantage of this great service by leaving their cars and SUV's at home and choosing Metro as their Dodger game day transit provider."

A two-year grant of more than $1.1 million ($1,169,000) was awarded to Metro by the MSRC last year to fund the operation of the Dodger Stadium Express service for both the 2013 and 2014 Dodgers baseball seasons. The funding is made in support of clean fuel transit service to link Union Station to Dodger Stadium. The MSRC awards funding within the South Coast Air Basin from a portion of the vehicle registration fee set aside for mobile source projects that result in emission reductions.

Last year, the Dodger Stadium Express bus service transported more than 186,000 fans. During the 2012 season the Dodger Stadium Express service transported nearly 136,000 Dodger fans. A 2013 Metro riders' survey showed that more than 75 percent of customers used public transportation from their place of origin to Union Station to connect with the Dodger Stadium Express, taking advantage of the regional rail and bus network to get from their home or place of employment to the games. An estimated 96 percent of transit riders to the games used Metro Rail or Metro buses, with the remaining transit riders taking Metrolink to Union Station. The survey also revealed that 46 percent of the Dodger Stadium Express passengers are repeat customers.

Funding under the MSRC grant will be used to offset the cost of fares on the Dodger Stadium Express bus service for passengers possessing a Dodger ticket. Service will be provided starting 90 minutes prior to the beginning of the games and will end 45 minutes after the end of the game.

"Improving air quality and reducing congestion, our Express bus service provides fans from across the county with a convenient, safe and low-cost way to attend a Dodger game without having to fight traffic or spend money on gas," said Metro Board member and LA County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, a South Coast Air Quality Management District representative on the MSRC. "It's a big win for Dodger fans and a homerun for our region."

The Dodger Stadium Express will begin at Union Station picking up Dodger fans at the Patsaouras Bus Plaza adjacent to the east portal of Union Station and continue to Dodger Stadium via Sunset Blvd. and Cesar Chavez Avenue.

Last year, the Dodger Stadium Express bus service included a dedicated bus lane on Sunset Boulevard to Dodger Stadium where traffic congestion is expected to be heaviest along the route. Thanks in part to funding from the grant, Metro is partnering with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) for traffic mitigation support that will help expedite trips to and from the games. This year a second dedicated bus lane along Sunset Blvd. leaving Dodger Stadium will be put into place to allow a quicker departure of buses.

New to the service this year is the installation of radios on board the dedicated fleet of Metro buses (12) so that Dodger fans using the service can enjoy listening to Dodger baseball when traveling to and from the stadium. Service will be provided every 10 minutes prior to the start of the game and run approximately every 30 minutes throughout the game. Also new this year will be two drop-off points within Dodger Stadium. One behind left/center field and a new stop on the upper parking deck near Lot P. This will enable Dodger fans two different drop-off and pick-up points within Dodger Stadium for faster service. Metro will deploy state-of-the-art 40-foot clean burning compressed natural gas (CNG) buses. Dodger game day tickets will be honored as fare payment to ride the bus service. Those without a ticket will pay regular one way fare of $1.50.

During its 23-year history, MSRC has removed 20 million pounds of harmful pollutants from the air by funding projects designed to reduce air pollution from mobile sources such as cars, trucks and buses. MSRC has distributed more than $290 million to local governments, transit agencies and private businesses throughout the south coast basin.

For additional details on the service and train schedules, please visit www.metrolinktrains.com.

ABOUT METROLINK (www.metrolinktrains.com)

Metrolink is Southern California's regional commuter rail service in its 21^st 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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