About the Project

The Orange County Maintenance Facility (OCMF), to be constructed off of Ridge Valley in Irvine, California, will serve as a place to store and service Metrolink trains in Orange County to meet long-term public transportation needs by accommodating current and future operations. The OCMF has been considered by OCTA, Metrolink and the City of Irvine for two decades on this site.

The facility will include train storage tracks, locomotive and car service platforms and a service building. Servicing at the site will include cleaning and washing trains, inspecting brakes and other parts, fueling locomotives, and conducting minor repairs such as oil changes and brake pad replacements. Trains will continue traveling to facilities in other counties for major repairs, including engine overhauls and wheel truing.

Environmental study to complete a Mitigated Negative Declaration for the project was finalized in June 2022. The analysis found there would be no significant impacts to the surrounding community or environment through the construction and operation of the Orange County Maintenance Facility.

Details

Project Benefits

Environment:

• Getting vehicles off the road and reducing congestion.
• Ensuring that Metrolink service continues to run efficiently and accommodate current and future operations.
• Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by eliminating the need to move trains without passengers long distances to other facilities in surrounding counties.
• Assisting the City of Irvine with reaching its climate goals by reducing GHG emissions associated with driving vehicles. On-road transportation accounts for more than half of the City’s GHG emissions, according to the 2019 City of Irvine Community GHG Emissions Inventory.

Public Transportation:

• Supporting future expansion of the Metrolink system serving Irvine and all of Orange County by meeting rail vehicle servicing and storage needs.
• Allowing for more frequent passenger rail service and reducing operating costs by eliminating the daily need to move trains to less convenient facilities.
• Improving on-time train performance by allowing trains to be stored and repaired locally.

Anticipated Schedule

milestone	timeframes
Environmental Phase	Ongoing
Design Phase	Two-Year Process
Construction (excluding maintenance building)	Two-Year Process

At a Glance

Affected Cities	Project Cost Through Environmental	Funding Source
Irvine	$180 Million	SCORE Transit Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP)

This project is part of the SCORE program for Metrolink’s Orange County and Inland Empire-Orange County lines and Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner. Metrolink has been awarded grants through California’s Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP), which utilizes SB 1 funding, as part of the SCORE program’s $10 billion funding goal. Since TIRCP funding is involved in the project, it’s part of California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment — particularly in disadvantaged communities.