| Ventura County Line | |
|---|---|
The Metrolink station at Chatsworth |
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| Overview | |
| Type | Commuter rail line |
| System | Metrolink |
| Status | Operating |
| Locale | Greater Los Angeles Area and Ventura County |
| Termini | Los Angeles Union Station East Ventura |
| Stations | 12 |
| Operation | |
| Operator(s) | Metrolink |
| Character | Elevated and surface-level |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 70.9 miles (average length between stations: 6.445 miles) |
| Track gauge | 1,435mm (4ft 8½ inches) |
| Operating speed | 39.22 mph (average for trains that travel the full line length on Mon-Fri) |
Metrolink's Ventura County Line is a commuter rail line serving Ventura County and the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County.[1] Service on this line began in 1992 as one of Metrolink's original three lines, with service from Moorpark to Los Angeles Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles. The line was extended to Camarillo and Oxnard in 1994 after the Northridge earthquake, then to East Ventura in 2002. Metrolink owns the tracks between Moorpark and Los Angeles Union Station. It uses the Coast Line of the Union Pacific Railroad between Moorpark and Oxnard 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.
Metrolink trains on this line run weekdays only, mostly during peak commuter hours, with limited mid-day service. Service is augmented during mid-day and on weekends by Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner, serving most of the Metrolink stations on the line. Additional airport shuttle service operates between Union Station and Bob Hope Airport station as the Burbank-Bob Hope Airport Line. Metrolink numbers Airport Line trains in the 900 series.[2]
As of July 2011 three trains each weekday run Los Angeles to East Ventura, four run to Moorpark, three run to Chatsworth and six 900s run to BUR.
At 4:23 p.m. on September 12, 2008, at least 24 passengers 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 (118) Freeway and east of Topanga Canyon Boulevard. Both locomotives, the leading car of the commuter train, and seven cars of the freight train were derailed.
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