Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo Metrolink Station

Small station; Free parking. You can buy tickets for the metrolink to go up to LA Union station or you can go south to Oceanside. The weekend pass is $ 10 all day and you can hop on hop off at any station.

I used this station last year.
I am very happy with all the Metrolink conductors, staff at Union Station, phone reps, and even the Sheriffs who patrol the trains.
I am very unhappy with the ticket buying process, which I have to deal with every time I ride.
For people who have to buy tickets frequently (not once a week or once a month) the ticket machines are a big concern. Sometimes there are lines in the morning. This results in people missing trains or not paying valid fare.
There are lines because the ticket machines are broken frequently. Also the machines are slow. Slow to use and slow to print the tickets.
If you have never used the machine before, it will take you a few minutes or more to figure out how to use it. The user interface is poor (hard to learn and slow to respond). I used to have problem with the credit card reader, but learned to the right motion to swipe correctly. If you pay cash expect to receive dollar-​coins in return.
The only people who can decide to fix the machine problems permanently is the Metrolink management and board.
Fares can be expensive. Weekly passes can be as high as $ 70 or more. Monthly passes four times that.

These reviews are eye-​rollers. Arriving to the station 5 minutes before your train is supposed to leave is not being «punctual» referring to the couple who supposedly missed their train. You have to look at the schedules to see which trains are subject to arriving 5 minutes early or late… there are several. You write a stupid, dramatic review and its going to be disregarded or laughed at. That said, my issue with this station is that transfer buses don’t stop at the station, you have to walk about ¼ of a mile to get to a bus stop. Also, it’s clean but very bare bones and very few weekend stops so not useful on the weekends. Parking lot could use some security.

There are no bathrooms at this small station, and bus service directly to the station is limited to a narrow time frame on weekday mornings and early evenings. You can smell urine in the passageway as you go under the tracks to the northbound train platform from the parking lot.
In the past few months, some religious group has been setting up shop at the station two to three times a week. These zealots stand suspiciously by the ticket vending machines, and also they pull their tall metal racks of literature onto the platform itself, which is a safety hazard. I almost ran into one as I turned a corner onto the platform. They take up to two benches and force tired morning commuters to stand. Complaints to Metrolink have been forwarded to the cities in charge of the station, but sadly nothing has changed.

Although it’s pretty quiet here during the weekends, I still feel that there should be a security guard on post like they do at North Main Corona. I’ve met several people here during the weekend that need help on buying their tickets and that have questions due to it being their first time traveling via Metrolink.

Small station.
Amtrak used to pick up and drop off here on a couple trains, now no more.
They need bathrooms and maybe a food location for morning commuters.
Watch out when you park your car here, it is not patrolled as much as you think. Our car has been broke into twice. Get a great alarm system.

Very useful for commuters going to work in Mission Viejo also great for Saddleback College commuters. If the train hours work for you to this location think green and leave your car at home.

I am here –venting– due to my frustration with the train leaving prematurely to its scheduled departure time. The train was scheduled to depart at 5:55 PM and, my boyfriend and I being the punctual persons that we are, we were there –with freshly bought tickets in hand– at 5:51 PM hopelessly racing after our train as it pulled away. So… the short of it all: nice train station, yes… which is nice when this is the only experience of Amtrak that you will have due to their premature departures.
Lastly, we missed the Angel’s game this evening. :(

I see no problems here. The train station is clean and pristine, and you buy your tickets from their system, it’s so easy a 5 year old could do it. Anyone that gives the train stations a low rating must not know how to take the trains and/​or follow directions.

Dear Metrolink Operators,
I am writing this letter because I am very disappointed in your train service. Twice I have gone to the Laguna Niguel/​Mission Viejo station to catch a train that was supposed to be at the station at a specified time according to your website, and twice the train was unexpectedly canceled.
You should really get either your scheduling figured out, or your website updated so that it relays real time schedules according to what is actually going on with the trains.
Lucky for you I am currently unemployed and don’t have the need to be anywhere at any specified time. But what about the hardworking folks that actually depend on you and your late/​canceled trains? It’s no wonder there are so many cars on the road. It’s government subsidized companies like yours that suck the life out of our government just so you can keep making a buck. And to add insult to injury you hire freaks that text message little boys while they should be paying attention to driving the train.
Your system is poor, outdated and expensive. Get it together and stop wasting our time and money.
Sincerely,
Kimberly P.

On holidays there no signs posted that they don’t run. So if you accidentally put your money in not knowing trains don’t pass by, you can forget about getting your money back. IF this happens to you, fight it! I fought it all the way to court and won. They still haven’t paid me back even though it’s court ordered. This shows you the extent of customer service they have.

This small station is served by Metrolink (Orange and Inland Empire/​OC lines) and Amtrak (on occasion). And not even all the Metrolink trains stop here. I once was waiting for a late morning Metrolink train to LA that was supposed to stop here. It was running late, and when it finally came, it just tore on through, leaving my lonesome self to sit there and wonder. The conductor even just shrugged his shoulders at me through the window as he went by.
Anyway, there are two access points to this station. The main one (where the parking lot is) is off Forbes, west of the tracks. You can also park along Camino Capistrano (located between the tracks and the 5 Fwy, off Avery).
This station has the tracks going between the platforms, with an underground crossing by stairs or elevators. The ticketing machines (no staff) are on the east/​Forbes side.
There’s some connecting OCTA service here, but not frequent enough in my opinion. I guess you can walk to the nearby car dealerships, and Saddleback College is up the way a bit. But you can tell that this station (really, more of a stop) was constructed as a function of the tracks, and not of the layout of the towns it serves.