SAN FERNANDO VALLEY : Study Says Subway Is Faster, Monorail Is Cheaper
An east-west rail line running mostly underground through the San Fernando Valley would do less environmental harm than a monorail line above the Ventura Freeway and could carry twice as many people at faster speeds, according to a county study released Wednesday.
The rail line, which would be underground in residential areas and at ground level in commercial areas, would cost more, however--$3.03 billion, compared to $2.6 billion for the monorail--according to the study.
The Los Angeles County Transportation Commission requested the study by county transportation officials two months ago to prepare for a decision in December on which of the two mass transit projects to build in the Valley.
Many of the study’s conclusions about rail capacity and speed supported a similar comparison study released in September, 1991.
The comparison study was accepted Wednesday by the Los Angeles County Planning and Mobility Improvement Committee, a subcommittee of the commission.
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