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 CalTrain commuter rail line.

Ventura County Line
The Metrolink station at Chatsworth
Overview
Locale	Greater Los Angeles Area and Ventura County
Termini	Ventura–East L.A. Union Station
Stations	12
Service
Type	Commuter rail
System	Metrolink
Operator(s)	Metrolink
Daily ridership	1,273 (June 2023)
Technical
Line length	70.9 miles (114.1 km)
Character	Elevated and surface-level
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Operating speed	39 mph (63 km/h) (avg.)
Route map Ventura County Line highlighted in yellow Coast Starlight to Seattle Pacific Surfliner to San Luis Obispo Ventura–East Oxnard Camarillo Moorpark Simi Valley Santa Susana Tunnel Chatsworth Northridge Van Nuys ( 2031) Burbank Airport–South ■ Antelope Valley Line Downtown Burbank Glendale Central Maintenance Facility L.A. Union Station ■ San Bernardino Line ■ 91/Perris Valley Line ■ Orange County Line ■ Riverside Line Other service sharing track Multiple services sharing track Stations with Amtrak service All stations are accessible

View of the Ventura County Line railway on Tampa Avenue heading to Chatsworth station

Schedules

As of October 23, 2023, the Ventura County Line is served by 20 Metrolink trains (ten in each direction) each weekday, running primarily at peak hours in the peak direction of travel.

However, of those trains, only six trains (three in each direction) travel the entire length of the line between Los Angeles and Ventura–East station. Sixteen trains (eight in each direction) short turn, traveling only between Los Angeles and Moorpark station, while 20 trains (ten in each direction) travel between Los Angeles and Chatsworth station.

Two round trips operate on weekends over the entire length of the line. Metrolink passengers (except those at Ventura–East station) also have access to four Pacific Surfliner trains (two in each direction) each day through a codeshare agreement.

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. Ventura–East station and layover facility are on the Santa Paula Branch Line.

History

See also: CalTrain (Los Angeles)

Map of the Southern Pacific Railroad's different routes into Los Angeles from the north

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.

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 1994 Northridge earthquake, then to 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. Permanent Saturday service started on May 29, 2021, with one round trip between LA Union Station and Moorpark. Service was extended to Ventura–East on August 9, 2021.

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 de facto Sunday service on the line.

Accidents

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. 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.

Stations

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

Future development

The Santa Barbara County Association of Governments is interested in expanding Metrolink service into the county. Following a meeting on May 8, 2024, the agency's board of directors directed its staff toward preparing a formal agreement with Ventura County. The proposed one-year pilot program would add an early-morning northbound train between Moorpark and Goleta with intermediate stops at Camarillo, Oxnard, Ventura–Downtown/​Beach, Carpinteria, and Santa Barbara, as well a mid-morning southbound return train with the same intermediate stops but also continuing nonstop to L.A. Union Station.

External links

Template:Attached KML/Ventura County Line

KML is from Wikidata

• Belmond, Sylvie (March 10, 2006). "Commuters praise trains, grade crossings improved". Simi Valley Acorn. Retrieved October 10, 2006.
• Metrolink Schedules
• Ventura County Line Route Map — on OpenStreetMap