SAVE METROLINK!

Metrolink — Southern California's regional rail backbone — is facing a $30 million budget deficit that could permanently eliminate weekend service, midday and late-night trains, and end-of-line stops as early as October 2026, while also raising fares by up to 15%. This crisis is partly the result of a deliberate choice by OCTA to cut its Metrolink funding by 10% — $5.2 million per year through 2030 — in order to preserve Measure M2 funds for other projects, even as the agency spends $1 billion widening the 5 freeway. The cuts couldn't come at a worse moment: Metrolink just broke all-time weekend ridership records, Southern California is weeks away from hosting the World Cup, and the Olympics are two years out. Once riders lose their trains, they don't come back — transit ridership is built on habit and trust, and permanent cuts will trigger a death spiral of declining ridership, growing deficits, and further service losses that could take decades to reverse. Orange County residents need to make their voices heard now, before the OCTA Board votes on its budget at the April 27 and May 11 board meetings — because once these cuts are locked in, reversing them will be far harder than stopping them.

ACTION ITEMS Email Template Canvasing Sign-Up

1. Californians for Electric Rail Canvassing Sessions
2. Information on when and where to attend board meeeting in person with talking points.
3. City emails of every OCTA Boardmember
4. Create Template for people to ask their OCTA rep to vote NO on the cuts, and ask their local City Council to speak out against the cuts.