As gasoline prices threaten to reach $4 a gallon and commuters continue to drive on congested highways, Metrolink will roll out its first high-powered, partially electric train today in Los Angeles.

It is the first of 15 environmentally friendlier trains that will be added to the Metrolink fleet over the next year in Southern California. Its introduction coincides with Earth Day.

The trains will help carry up to 200 commuters daily through Ventura County, said one Metrolink official.

"We're very excited about this new improvement," said Keith Millhouse, Metrolink vice chairman and Moorpark council member. "The locomotive we're getting has a higher horsepower, a longer train with a new sleek technological design."

The white and blue train is 10 feet longer, capable of hauling 10 passenger cars, four more than current trains. It will help the environment by removing cars from the nearby freeways as more passengers move to cleaner transit, Millhouse said.

With the capacity to carry an additional 1,200 passengers, the trains will reduce by 50 percent the particulate matter they produce from the standard originally set by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1998.

Metrolink also plans to continue to "green" its existing fleet by refurbishing the trains. As the new equipment arrives, older equipment will be removed from service and upgraded.

This new train includes enhanced safety features, improved performance and reliability, Millhouse said. The new equipment includes a stop/start capacity to reduce emissions when at a standstill, rather than idling.

Metrolink takes about 25,000 cars off the road each day, said Denise Tyrrell, spokeswoman for Metrolink.

She said the new train will result in about a 42 percent reduction in oxides of nitrogen compared to other trains in Southern California.

A byproduct of combustion, oxides of nitrogen combine with hydrocarbons to produce smog.

Tyrrell said switching to public transit riding can reduce an individual's daily carbon emissions by 20 pounds, or more than 4,800 pounds per year.

"The new locomotives have significant environmental and technological improvements. They are the cleanest-burning locomotives in the country," she said.

Metrolink will unveil the new train at its Central Maintenance facility at 10 a.m. today, 1555 San Fernando Road, Los Angeles.

On the Net: http://www.metrolinktrains.com