Making Tracks : Rail passengers on the first day of Metrolink’s speedy new route from Riverside to Irvine had something in common-- horror stories about the grueling automobile commute they were only too happy to leave behind.

IRVINE —  When Phil De Guzman on Monday boarded Metrolink’s new train line that would spirit him from Riverside to his job in Irvine, he took along two things. One was his portable ham radio to talk to his friends driving on the jampacked Riverside Freeway.

The other was the memory of his worst commuter nightmare.

“I remember one Friday night, I was driving back from Irvine on the 91, and a plane had crashed right at Green Valley [exit],” said De Guzman, 38, an engineer for Toshiba. “Traffic was backed up forever and instead of an hour and a half, it took me five hours to get home.”

For a $12 round-trip fare, De Guzman joined hundreds of others who parked their autos and got on what Metrolink calls the nation’s first suburb-to-suburb commuter line--that is, a train that does not have a major metropolitan city as a destination.

But there were glitches on the inaugural day, such as ticket machines that swallowed credit cards and then spit them back sans commuter ticket.

“It’s not our fault, it’s operations,” said David Solow, who allowed frustrated passengers free passage past the irksome machines. “It’s the first day.”

Most passengers spent the 60-minute ride reading newspapers, working on laptop computers, and hobnobbing with elected officials and Southern California rail and transportation representatives.

“Too bad this train couldn’t travel right down the middle of the 91 Freeway,” said Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Riverside), who was on board. “It would really make motorists want to get on it.”

Michael Moss, 36, of Moreno Valley was typical of many passengers who make up the new line’s commuter profile. He’s relatively young, has a good job, and owns a home in one of the fastest-growing areas of the country.

And, until Monday, Moss was a slave to his car.

“The fastest time I’ve ever made the trip from my house to work is one hour and 20 minutes,” Moss said, as he sat crunching numbers on a laptop. “But one time there was a huge accident and the trip took me three hours and 27 minutes. This beats everything. It’s great.”

Time is the key here. Commuters, expected to number 1,100 a day, are eager to shave hours into minutes and will pay for that, especially with many employers offering monthly subsidies, said Susan Cornelison, a Riverside County Transportation Commission spokeswoman.

The 49-mile line has five stops: Riverside at La Sierra, West Corona, Orange, Santa Ana and Irvine near the Irvine Spectrum.

Metrolink financed the $152-million system with half-cent sales taxes in Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. San Bernardino is expected to join the line in January.

On Monday, workers were still putting on the final touches at three new stations. Metrolink representatives will be assigned platforms to assist passengers, while additional Metrolink staff members will ride the train through October.

Cornelison noted that low housing prices in Riverside and San Bernardino counties and more jobs in Orange County, despite the bankruptcy, have created a need for additional train routes.

To understand, all one needs to do is listen to Monday’s passengers while they swapped commuter stories like veterans reliving World War II.

“I remember getting to work one day at 11 a.m. and I left my house at 6:10 a.m.,” said Kathleen Slack, 49, a court reporter at the Santa Ana courthouse who commutes from Riverside. “The traffic was so bad that I got off at Weir Canyon at the Denny’s because I had to use the bathroom.”

That won’t happen again. Today, the train left Riverside at 7:02 a.m. and arrived in Irvine at 8.

To be sure, these are die-hard commuters, drivers who pay $80 to $100 for gas and rack up 2,500 to 3,000 miles a month.

“Sometimes I put 3,000 miles on my car in less than a month,” said Tracie Montgomery, 35, of Riverside. “I know, because I have to change my oil that often.”

Kent Herbst, 27, a sales representative for Windsor Vineyards in Irvine, agreed with De Guzman, who praised the new line as the “best thing” ever to happen to the Riverside area.

“I would rather ride this than build up my right calf muscle shifting my car all the time,” Herbst said.

Herbst, Slack and Linda Oesterle, 38, of Riverside found themselves sitting together. Strangers until they boarded, the threesome were quickly joined by Tim Baker as all four struck up conversations.

When one wondered if Metrolink sold coffee (it doesn’t) on board, Slack got a mischievous smile and said, “Hey, wouldn’t it be nice if they sold alcohol!”

And, as if on cue, the conductor’s voice was heard over the loudspeaker, “Sorry, but alcohol is not sold aboard the Metrolink.”