Antelope Valley Line

The Antelope Valley Line is a commuter rail line that serves the Northern Los Angeles County area as part of the Metrolink system. The northern segment of the line is rural in character because it travels through the sparsely populated Soledad Canyon between Santa Clarita and Palmdale, serving the small community of Acton along the way. Other portions of its route parallel the former US Route 6, now San Fernando Road and Sierra Highway. This is the only Metrolink line contained entirely within Los Angeles County.

History

The line along the Santa Clara River and into Los Angeles was completed by Southern Pacific in 1876 as the first railway to connect the city to the national network. The last passenger trains operated over the line in 1971 followed by the final freight train in 1979.

In 1992 the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, predecessor of Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, purchased the right of way from Southern Pacific. Control of the line was then transferred to the newly-formed Southern California Regional Rail Authority who prepared the route for commuter rail service. Passenger operations began on October 26, 1992 and was called the Santa Clarita Line at the time. It was one of three original lines in the Metrolink system along with the Ventura County and San Bernardino lines. The route initially ran from Los Angeles Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles to Santa Clarita station, with intermediate stops only at and stations.

Earthquake traffic relief

Since the beginning of service, Metrolink had plans to extend the line north to the Antelope Valley but these plans were expedited by almost ten years following the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The earthquake caused the collapse of the freeway connector of State Route 14 (the Antelope Valley Freeway) onto Interstate 5 (the Golden State Freeway) at the Newhall Pass interchange, forcing all traffic in both directions to use the parallel truck route to the east of I-5 that was unaffected by the quake. With funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency the Southern California Regional Rail Authority constructed an emergency extension of the line to Lancaster to help relieve the traffic bottleneck. The U.S. Navy Seabees construction battalion and crews from the L.A. County Public Works Department were able to construct the stations in just a few days, compared to the normal three to six months. Emergency stations in Lancaster and Palmdale were both built in just three days and Metrolink started operating trains one week after the earthquake struck. Over the next five weeks additional emergency stations were added in Sylmar/San Fernando, Vincent Grade/Acton and Santa Clarita (Via Princessa). While most of the emergency stations have since been replaced with permanent stations, the Via Princessa station still uses the same platform built after the earthquake.

Service expansion

Saturday service on the Antelope Valley Line has been operating since 1999, Sunday service was added in September 2007. As of August 2013, weekend service has expanded to 6 trains on Saturdays and Sundays. Arrivals at LA Union Station are timed to allow passengers to connect with Amtrak trains and trains on Metrolink's Orange County and San Bernardino lines.

Express service was added to the line in May 2011. Two express trains operated in the peak commute direction between Palmdale and Los Angeles (one southbound train in the morning, one northbound train in the evening). Express trains were about 18 minutes faster than trains that stop at all stations. Express service was later removed.

On April 30, 2015, Metrolink announced it will be offering discounted fares to riders on the Antelope Valley Line beginning July 1, 2015 as part of a pilot program. The fare pilot program, which will be in place for six months following the program's launch, will include several new ticket pricing options for riders on the Antelope Valley Line. There will be a 25 percent reduction in fares on all ticket types for trips along the corridor from Los Angeles to Lancaster, with the exception of the Weekend Day Pass, which will remain at its current $10 fare. In addition, a new "station-to-station" fare will be introduced in which riders traveling during off-peak hours (9 a.m. to 2 p.m.) will be able to purchase a one-way ticket to travel between stations for $2 per station. This fare is designed to encourage local trips using Metrolink as an additional mobility option complementing local bus service.

A new Burbank Airport–North station opened in 2018 to serve Antelope Valley Line passengers traveling to Hollywood Burbank Airport. The station is located near the intersection of San Fernando Boulevard and Hollywood Way, with a free shuttle bus for passengers to the airport terminal located approximately one mile away from the station site. Metrolink tickets holders may also make a free Metro bus connection with Metrolink ticket.

In July 2019, additional late evening train service and bi-directional service were being considered. An additional infill station at in Santa Clarita began construction in 2020. In September 2023, the Metro Board of Directors approved $1.6 million in funding to add more midday and evening round trips starting October 23, 2023. The Vista Canyon station opened the same day the expanded timetable went into service, following a ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 20, 2023.

Pacoima plane crash

On January 9, 2022, a private Cessna 172 crashed onto the tracks of the Antelope Valley Line at Osborne Street in Pacoima after taking off from nearby Whiteman Airport and was then struck by a Metrolink train. The Cessna's pilot was injured in the initial crash, but Los Angeles Police Department officers on the scene were able to help him out of the wreckage before it was hit by the train. No one aboard the train was injured.

Service

, the Antelope Valley Line is served by 30 Metrolink trains (15 in each direction) each weekday, evenly spaced throughout the day. Of those trains, 22 travel the entire length of the line from Los Angeles to Lancaster and eight trains short turn, traveling only between Los Angeles and the Vista Canyon station in Santa Clarita. Four of the short turn trains (2 in each direction) are met by Antelope Valley Transit Authority route 790, the North County TRANSporter, a bus route that allows passengers on these trains to travel to the Palmdale station.

On weekends, the Antelope Valley Line is served by 24 Metrolink trains (12 in each direction), evenly spaced throughout the day. Of those trains, 12 travel the entire length of the line from Los Angeles to Lancaster and 12 trains travel only between Los Angeles and the Via Princessa station.

Stations

All stations are located in Los Angeles County.

Future development

Metrolink was awarded $107 million in 2020 Intercity Rail Capital Program funds to begin a suite of upgrades to the line that would allow increasing frequencies to half-hourly between Santa Clarita and hourly to Lancaster. The improvements could add two infill stations between Burbank and Union Station, but staff recommend against utilizing multiple units. Metro announced in October 2020 that an environmental impact report is being prepared for a project which would add new double track between the Sylmar/San Fernando and Newhall stations and a second station platform at Santa Clarita Station. Lancaster would get a new center platform and storage tracks with this project.

An expansion to Kern County has been discussed in a 2012 Kern County Council of Governments report. Trains would stop in Rosamond and Mojave.

See also

* Lang Southern Pacific Station a California Historic Landmark

References

External links

Metrolink Schedules
* http://www.openstreetmap.org/?relation=1172222 – Route on OpenStreetMap

{{Metrolink (California)

Line
Antelope Valley
Mojave Desert
Public transportation in Los Angeles County, California
Public transportation in the San Fernando Valley
Railway lines opened in 1992
Transportation in Palmdale, California
Transportation in Lancaster, California
1992 establishments in California