Metrolink

Metrolink, the commuter railroad that serves Southern California, has overhauled the look and content of its website to make it easier for the public to get information about routes, schedules and tickets. The new features allow commuters to plan trips, find stations, learn about service changes and create personalized accounts, called “My Metrolink.” General news about the railroad also is available as well as a calculator for ticket prices. “The vision was to improve the website's user experience to make riding the train more accessible to everyone in Metrolink's six¿county service area,” said Deborah Golian Castro, the chief executive officer of Creative Productions in Long Beach, which developed the site.

A state appellate court panel has upheld the conviction of a man who caused the deadly Metrolink train derailment in 2005 in Glendale. A Los Angeles County Superior Court jury convicted Juan Manuel Alvarez in 2008 of 11 counts of first-degree murder and one count of arson for drenching his Jeep Cherokee with gasoline and parking it on the train tracks near the border with Atwater in January 2005, causing the massive derailment. Eleven people died and nearly 200 were injured.

A state appellate court will hear arguments next month in the case of Juan Manuel Alvarez, who is appealing the 11 life sentences he received for causing the deadly Metrolink train derailment in 2005. Alvarez, a former Compton construction worker, will appeal a Los Angeles County Superior Court jury's decision in 2008 to convict him of 11 counts of first-degree murder and one count of arson. On Jan. 26, 2005, Alvarez parked his Jeep Cherokee on the train tracks that bisect Glendale and Los Angeles.

A Metrolink train covered in some 50,000 sparkling lights stopped for adoring fans in Burbank and Glendale Sunday evening as crowds donated hundreds of toys for low-income families. The Metrolink Toy Express, which benefits local nonprofits and agencies, attracted hundreds of people at each stop. In Burbank, where the firefighters' Spark of Love toy drive was beneficiary, fire engineer John Freeborn said the need was as great as ever. “The toy donations have been going down and the requests have been going up. It's just a sign of the times,” he said.

With toy donations down this year, Glendale firefighters at Station 29 were more than elated Friday to accept gifts from local Boy Scouts for their annual Spark of Love Toy Drive. Dozens of Boy Scouts delivered toys to the fire station on Honolulu Avenue, hoping to help enlarge the Fire Department's cache of gifts that will be distributed to poor and low-income children in the community this holiday season. Firefighters are also looking to gather more toy donations this Sunday at Metrolink's annual Holiday Toy Express, which will make its stop in downtown Burbank at about 5 p.m. before heading to Glendale's train station at about 5:45 p.m. -- Veronica Rocha , Times Community News Twitter: @veronicarochaLA  

California's proposed bullet train, the nation's largest public infrastructure project, has become the focus of an intense federal funding battle that could undermine its survival, as Republican leaders in Congress attempt to claw back as much as $3.3 billion in federal grants already approved for the start of construction next year. The case against the bullet train is being led by a group of California Republicans , including Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Atwater) and Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield)

Firefighters across the region have kicked their Christmas toy drives into high gear in advance of Metrolink's Holiday Toy Express tour of 32 cities through mid-December. Organizers are encouraging the public to drop new, unwrapped toys off at local fire stations and at Metrolink platforms as a specially decorated train decked out in 50,000 Christmas lights makes its rounds. And of course, Santa will be riding the locomotive. The campaign typically collects thousands of toys that are distributed to local needy families ahead of Christmas.

Bicyclists got their own parking structure Monday at the Metrolink station in downtown Burbank -- a secure building with 40 parking stalls, a repair stand and other features that officials say should entice more people to use public transit. A longtime gripe among cyclists in the L.A. region has been the lack of accommodations for their bikes at public transit hubs, but Burbank and state transportation officials on Monday touted the so-called Bike Stop a major leap in convenience.

Authorities determined that a suspicious package at the downtown Burbank Metrolink station this morning was not a threat. At about 7:40a.m. today, Burbank police responded to calls concerning a briefcase that was placed between a concrete wall and a trash can, but after an examination determined that it was empty. Incoming trains were held away from the station while police blocked vehicles and pedestrians from coming into the area, police said in a statement. The station and surrounding area were evacuated.  A Los Angeles County Sheriff's bomb squad and K-9 unit assisted in investigating the case.   Traffic was restored roughly 45 minutes after the initial response, police said.

A train derailment in Pacoima was forcing Metrolink to use buses Tuesday morning instead of some trains between Burbank and the high desert, an agency spokeswoman said. The derailed freight train on northbound Union Pacific tracks, which Metrolink uses, still had not been moved after its derailment Monday night, officials said. No injuries were reported in the incident. Early southbound morning commute trains from Lancaster to Union Station would experience 10- to 15-minute delays, said Laura Magness, a Metrolink spokeswoman.