All Aboard on New Run to San Diego : Transportation: Simi Valley residents try out the second daily train serving Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

The last time Simi Valley resident Amber Lievens rode on a train was in 1943, when she came to Los Angeles from Colorado.

On Monday, the 69-year-old got a chance to relive that experience when she joined about 25 other Simi Valley residents, city and state officials on the inaugural ride of Amtrak’s second daily San Diegan train serving Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

“It’s going to be a treat for me,” Lievens said as she prepared to board the train in Simi Valley on its way to Santa Barbara. “I’m really looking forward to it.”

The new San Diegan service, which actually started Sunday, brings a second round-trip train between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, with stops in Simi Valley and Oxnard. The number of trains between Los Angeles and San Diego will not be increased in the new schedule.

“I think it’s great,” said Simi Valley resident Ken Garges, who was also riding the train Monday. “I’ve been a rail fan all my life.”

Garges, 75, said the new run will enable area residents to catch a morning train to Santa Barbara, where they can spend the day shopping or sightseeing before returning in the afternoon.

Simi Valley Mayor Greg Stratton, City Council members Vicky Howard and Bill Davis, and Assemblywoman Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley) were among officials who spoke at a brief ceremony in Simi Valley to commemorate the new San Diegan line.

“We’re very pleased to have this new service added,” Stratton said. “The city of Simi Valley has been very aggressive in supporting train service.”

Howard agreed, saying, “When you have a second train come, you know it’s really working for the folks and they’re using it.”

The additional northbound train will stop in Simi Valley at 9:30 a.m. and in Oxnard at 10 a.m., arriving in Santa Barbara at 10:55 a.m. The original northbound train stops in Simi Valley at 9:05 p.m., Oxnard at 9:35 p.m. and Santa Barbara at 10:30 p.m.

The new southbound San Diegan will leave Santa Barbara at 3:25 p.m., stopping in Oxnard at 4:10 p.m. and Simi Valley at 4:40 p.m. The train will arrive in Los Angeles at 6:20 p.m. and San Diego at 9:05 p.m.

The original southbound train leaves Santa Barbara at 7:50 a.m., stopping in Oxnard at 8:35 a.m. and Simi Valley at 9:05 a.m. It arrives in Los Angeles at 10:30 a.m. and in San Diego at 1:37 p.m.

Amtrak’s San Diegan, which operates eight daily round trips between San Diego and Los Angeles, first extended service to Santa Barbara in 1988.

In the 1989-90 fiscal year, Caltrans and Amtrak officials said, 52,470 passengers rode the southbound train segment between Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, while 47,253 passengers rode the northbound train.

A special promotional fare is being offered on the Santa Barbara to San Diego line until April 30.

The one-way Santa Barbara-San Diego fare is $29.50. During the promotion, a one-day, round-trip fare will be $30.50 and a round trip completed in more than one day will be $36.50.

A special reduced rate is also being offered during the same time period on the Santa Barbara to Los Angeles route. A same-day round-trip ticket will cost $19, while round trips not completed the same day will run $25. The normal one-way fare is $18.