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.[2] The line is the successor of the short lived CalTrain commuter rail line.

Ventura County Line
The Metrolink station at Chatsworth
Overview
StatusOperating
LocaleGreater Los Angeles Area and Ventura County
Termini
Stations12
Service
TypeCommuter rail
SystemMetrolink
Operator(s)Metrolink
Daily ridership3,950 (2012)[1]
Technical
Line length70.9 miles (114.1 km)
CharacterElevated and surface-level
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Operating speed39 mph (63 km/h) (avg.)
Route map
Amtrak
Coast Starlight
to Seattle
Pacific Surfliner
to San Luis Obispo
 Ventura–East
 Oxnard
Amtrak
 Camarillo
Amtrak
 Moorpark
Amtrak
 Simi Valley
Amtrak
Santa Susana Tunnel
 Chatsworth
Amtrak
 Northridge
Amtrak
 Van Nuys
Amtrak( 2030)
 Burbank Airport–South
Amtrak Hollywood Burbank Airport
■ Antelope Valley Line
 Downtown Burbank
Amtrak
 Glendale
Amtrak
 L.A. Union Station
Amtrak (Brightline West CAHSR planned)
■ San Bernardino Line
Disabled access All stations are accessible
View of the Ventura County Line railway on Tampa Avenue heading to Chatsworth station

Schedules

Metrolink trains on the Ventura County Line ran weekdays only until Saturday service was added on May 29, 2021, mostly during peak commuter hours, and so with limited midday service. From Union Station to Downtown Los Angeles (as of July 2011):

East Ventura
  • six trains total at peak hours, in the peak direction only (3 south-AM; 3 north PM) each weekday, running to East Ventura station (in the community of Montalvo) — northern end of line.
Moorpark
  • four trains each weekday run to Moorpark Station (far western Simi Valley) — also station for Amtrak Pacific Surfliner. Trains of the six East Ventura runs also stop here.
Chatsworth
Airport

Other service

Service is augmented during midday and on weekends by the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner line, serving most of the Metrolink stations on the Ventura County Line.

Airport

Additional airport shuttle service operates between Union Station and Burbank Airport–South station as the Hollywood Burbank Airport Line—BUR. Metrolink numbers Airport Line trains in the 900 series.[3]

Tracks

The line operates between Moorpark and Los Angeles Union Station on tracks owned by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority – the Ventura Subdivision from Moorpark to Burbank Airport and the Valley Subdivision, the Valley Subdivision from Burbank to Glendale, becoming the River Subdivision into Los Angeles Union Station. It uses the Coast Line of the Union Pacific Railroad between Moorpark and Oxnard and into Ventura where the Santa Paula Branch splits from the rest of the Coast Line. The East Ventura station and layover facility are on the Santa Paula Branch Line.[4]

History
See also: CalTrain (Los Angeles)

The railway was originally constructed by the Southern Pacific Railroad as their Coast Line, connecting Los Angeles to San Francisco. The Montalvo Cutoff between Burbank and Ventura via the Simi Valley was built in 1904, bypassing the old line further to the north. Caltrans ran commuter rail service over the line very briefly in 1982 and 1983, but CalTrain was unsustainable due to a number of factors.

In 1990 the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, predecessor of Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, acquired a portion of the right of way between Los Angeles and Moorpark from Southern Pacific and transferred it to the newly formed Southern California Regional Rail Authority for commuter service.[5]

The line began operations in 1992 as one of Metrolink's original three routes, with service from Moorpark to Los Angeles Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles. Service was extended to Camarillo and Oxnard in 1994 after the Northridge earthquake, then to East Ventura in 2002.

Because Amtrak trains operate on the same corridor all day, every day, Metrolink did not operate weekend service on the line. As part of a six-month trial program to determine demand, Metrolink added Saturday service on April 6, 2020.[6] Permanent Saturday service started on May 29, 2021, with one round trip between LA Union Station and Moorpark.[7] Service was extended to Ventura–East on August 9, 2021.[8]

Metrolink established a code sharing agreement with Amtrak, allowing all Metrolink passengers to ride select Pacific Surfliner trains with any ticket or pass, starting April 4, 2022. The code sharing agreement adds one more morning and early afternoon trip to Ventura, expanding midday and Saturday service, and establishing defacto Sunday service on the line.[9]

2008 Chatsworth train collision
Main article: 2008 Chatsworth train collision

At 4:23 p.m. on September 12, 2008, 25 people were killed in a collision between Metrolink commuter train 111 and a freight train. At least 130 people were injured, with at least one dying later at a hospital. The crash occurred on the Ventura County Line near Heather Lee Lane, south of the Ronald Reagan Freeway(SR-118) and east of Topanga Canyon Boulevard. Both locomotives, the leading car of the commuter train, and seven cars of the freight train were derailed.

2015 Oxnard train derailment
Main article: 2015 Oxnard train derailment

On February 24, 2015, according to Oxnard Police Sergeant Denise Shadinger, a Metrolink commuter train traveling from Ventura County to Los Angeles hit a road vehicle near Oxnard, California; she initially said there was an unspecified number of injuries. The incident was reported at 5:44 A.M. Three cars derailed, at least one vehicle was fully engulfed at some point, and the three derailed cars were on their sides; the locomotive was still upright. Little but scorched, mangled wreckage in an intersection and on the tracks was left of the truck; Oxnard Fire Department battalion chief Sergio Martinez said the driver fled the scene unhurt but was found and taken into custody. News helicopters and footage from ABC affiliate KABC showed footage of triage tarps lying in the 5th Street (SR 34) where on-scene firefighters were treating victims and monitoring the scene. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), in a tweet, acknowledged the incident and stated they were launching an investigation.[10][11][12][13][14][15] The train engineer died a week later and 29 others were injured. A week after the incident, an Amtrak train collided with a vehicle in the same area as the first crash.[16]

Stations
Station Connections Location
Ventura–East Ventura Ventura County
Oxnard Amtrak Amtrak: Coast Starlight, Pacific Surfliner Oxnard
Camarillo Amtrak Amtrak: Pacific Surfliner Camarillo
Moorpark Amtrak Amtrak: Pacific Surfliner Moorpark
Simi Valley Amtrak Amtrak: Coast Starlight, Pacific Surfliner Simi Valley
Chatsworth Amtrak Amtrak: Pacific Surfliner
Metro:  G Line		 Chatsworth Los Angeles County
Northridge Northridge
Van Nuys Amtrak Amtrak: Coast Starlight, Pacific Surfliner Van Nuys
Burbank Airport–South Amtrak Amtrak: Coast Starlight, Pacific Surfliner
Hollywood Burbank Airport Walkway to Hollywood Burbank Airport		 Burbank
Downtown Burbank Metrolink (California) Metrolink: Antelope Valley
Glendale Metrolink (California) Metrolink: Antelope Valley
Amtrak Amtrak: Pacific Surfliner		 Glendale
L.A. Union Station Metrolink (California) Metrolink: 91/Perris Valley Antelope Valley Orange County Riverside San Bernardino
Amtrak Amtrak: Coast Starlight, Pacific Surfliner, Southwest Chief, Sunset Limited, Texas Eagle
Metro:  A Line  B Line  D Line  J Line
FlyAway (bus) FlyAway to LAX		 Los Angeles

Notes

    References
    1. "Metrolink Fact Sheet for June 2012" (PDF). Metrolink. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2015. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
    2. Hattem, Matt Van (June 30, 2006). "Metrolink, The commuter railroad serving Los Angeles". Trains Magazine. Retrieved October 10, 2006.
    3. "Train Schedules | Metrolink". Metrolinktrains.com. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
    4. SMA Rail Consulting (April 2016). "California Passenger Rail Network Schematics" (PDF). California Department of Transportation.
    5. 1991 California Rail Passenger Development Plan (PDF) (Report). Caltrans. July 1991. p. 175. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
    6. Harris, Mike. "Metrolink to add Saturday service on VC line in April in pilot program". Ventura County Star. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
    7. "Metrolink's Ventura County Line starts Saturday service to LA's Union Station". Los Angeles Daily News. May 29, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
    8. "Metrolink expands Ventura County Line's Saturday service". Daily News. August 9, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
    9. "Metrolink Schedule Update". www.metrolinktrains.com. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
    10. "Metrolink train hits a vehicle in Oxnard". vcstar.com. The E.W. Scripps Co. February 24, 2015. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
    11. "Alerts, Service Advisories and Planned Advisories | Metrolink". Metrolinktrains.com. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
    12. "Abandoned truck's driver arrested after commuter train crash". Msn.com. February 25, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
    13. Lah, Kyung (February 25, 2015). "Train technology prevented tragedy in California". CNN.com. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
    14. "Truck driver who caused California derailment arrested on suspicion of felony hit-and-run". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
    15. "Truck driver arrested after train crash". Usatoday.com. February 25, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
    16. Nelson, Laura J. (March 1, 2015). "Amtrak train strikes car in Camarillo; no serious injuries reported". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
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