L.A. to Spend $90,000 for Oxnard Train

The Los Angeles City Council on Friday approved spending $90,000 toward a Los Angeles-to-Oxnard commuter train with stops in the San Fernando and Simi valleys.

About $65,000 will be used to improve the train stations in Chatsworth and Van Nuys.

The other $25,000 represents the city’s share of a $400,000 rail study by the Southern California Assn. of Governments. The state and other cities along the route are also funding the study.

Plans call for two round trips daily during peak commuting hours between downtown Los Angeles and Oxnard, with stops at Camarillo, Moorpark, Simi Valley, Chatsworth, Northridge, Van Nuys, Burbank Airport and Glendale.

The trains could be operational in mid-1990, said Bijan Yarjani, project manager for SCAG’s transportation department. Round-trip fare between Chatsworth and Los Angeles is projected to be $3.

The commuter train is seen as a way to relieve congestion on the Ventura Freeway, especially during its widening.

Unlike the light-rail system proposed for the Valley, the commuter service would use standard rail passenger cars and diesel engines and would travel on existing tracks.

The SCAG study, expected to be completed in March, will also examine installing additional track so passenger service is not delayed by freight trains, and adding more Amtrak trains between San Diego and Santa Barbara during off-peak hours.

The city funds will come from a half-cent increase in the sales tax approved by Los Angeles County voters in 1980 to finance transit projects.