The Santa Susana Tunnel is a railroad tunnel that connects the Simi and

San Fernando San Fernando may refer to: People *Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia Places Argentina *San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...

valleys in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

. The tunnel is credited with saving considerable time and distance between

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. It is long and runs through the

Simi Hills The Simi Hills are a low rocky mountain range of the Transverse Ranges in eastern Ventura County, California, Ventura County and western Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, of Southern California, United States. The range runs ma ...

and

Santa Susana Mountains The Santa Susana Mountains are a transverse range of mountains in Southern California, north of the city of Los Angeles, in the United States. The range runs east-west, separating the San Fernando and Simi valleys on its south from the Santa ...

. The tunnel is located beneath the

Santa Susana Pass The Santa Susana Pass, originally Simi Pass, is a low mountain pass in the Simi Hills of Southern California, connecting the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles neighborhood of Chatsworth, to the city of Simi Valley and eponymous valley. It h ...

History

Before the construction of the Montalvo Cutoff, the most direct rail line between San Francisco and Los Angeles ran (from north to south) to Ventura, through the

Santa Clara River Valley The Santa Clara River Valley is a rural, mainly agricultural valley in Ventura County, California Ventura County () is a County (United States), county located in Southern California, the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of t ...

, to Saugus, California, through the San Fernando Tunnel and then to

Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...

, for a distance of . Construction of the tunnel began in 1900 by the

Southern Pacific Transportation Company The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names ...

and was completed in 1904. The first train to use the tunnel was on March 20, 1904. With the completion of the tunnel, the distance between Montalvo and

was reduced to . In 1903, the railroad opened the Santa Susana Depot in

Rancho Simi Rancho Simi, also known as Rancho San José de Nuestra Señora de Altagracia y Simí, was a Spanish land grant in what is now eastern Ventura and western Los Angeles counties granted in 1795 to Santiago Pico, founder of the Pico family of Cal ...

providing farmers an easier method of transferring their crops and livestock to market. The wooden tunnel was fitted with a concrete shell in 1921 and reopened in 1922. In 1972, the tunnel underwent minor renovations. In 1997, officials began seeking options to restore the tunnel due to its deterioration over time. Metrolink trains had to slow down to and passengers reported swaying as well as a general lack of confidence in the tunnel's stability. Due to the separation of rock from the tunnel's concrete shell over time, the tunnel was considered vulnerable in the event of a serious earthquake. Local officials attempted to secure in federal funds to fix the tunnel but ultimately failed. In 1998, an initial was invested into the tunnel's restoration. Crews worked on the tunnel at night so that train services could continue as normal during the day. By 2000, the project's cost rose to as wooden

railroad tie A railroad tie, crosstie (American English), railway tie (Canadian English) or railway sleeper ( Australian and British English) is a rectangular support for the rails in railroad tracks. Generally laid perpendicular to the rails, ties trans ...

s were replaced with steel ones, new water pumps were installed, loose soil was excavated, and the tunnel's shell was secured with new support bolts. Crews completed maintenance on the tunnel in October 2000. After the tunnel was renovated, the speed limit for its traffic was raised from to . The tunnel is still used today as part of the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

Coast Line Coast Line may refer to: * Coast Line (California), a railroad line * Coast Line (Denmark), a railroad line * Coast Line (Sri Lanka), a railroad line See also * Coastline A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea ...

. Freight service is provided by Union Pacific, and passenger services include the Metrolink's

Ventura County Line The Metrolink Ventura County Line is a commuter rail line serving Ventura County and the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County and the City of Los Angeles, in the Southern California system. The line is the successor of the short lived C ...

and

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

's ''

Coast Starlight The ''Coast Starlight'' is a Amtrak Long Distance, long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak on the West Coast of the United States between Seattle and Los Angeles via Portland, Oregon, Portland and the San Francisco Bay Area. The train, ...

'' and ''

Pacific Surfliner The ''Pacific Surfliner'' is a passenger train service serving the communities on the coast of Southern California between San Diego and San Luis Obispo. The ''Pacific Surfliner'' is Amtrak's third-busiest service (exceeded in ridership only ...

''.

References

Railroad tunnels in California Simi Hills Tunnels in Los Angeles County, California Transportation buildings and structures in Ventura County, California Chatsworth, Los Angeles Santa Susana Mountains Tunnels completed in 1904 1904 in California Underground commuter rail Southern Pacific Railroad Union Pacific Railroad tunnels {{US-tunnel-stub