EARTHQUAKE: THE LONG ROAD BACK : Earthquake Will Bring Metrolink to Camarillo : Transit: The temblor does what city officials couldn’t do--speed the arrival of commuter train service.

Plans to extend regular Metrolink train service to Camarillo--a move aimed at easing post-earthquake commuter problems in the county--were greeted by city leaders Monday as an unexpected “silver lining” to last week’s disaster.

Metrolink officials said they will be given between $500,000 and $900,000 in Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster funds to establish a passenger stop on Lewis Road on the city’s east side.

Service to Camarillo could begin by the end of February, and a small station will be built at the site later, officials said.

“Of course, nobody wants to see disasters happen, but in this case some good will come of it,” said Camarillo Mayor Ken Gose. “I’ve chatted about this very possibility with other people and they all said they would be inclined to ride the train if it made stops in Camarillo.”

Echoing Gose was Camarillo City Manager Bill Little, who said the city has long sought the extension of Metrolink service to the central county city.

Special Metrolink service was provided briefly during the Ventura County Fair last summer from Camarillo to Ventura and was very popular. Before the earthquake, however, Metrolink officials viewed a regular stop in Camarillo as too costly.

“We’ve inquired about service here for some time and have always been told that money was tight and that we had to wait our turn,” Little said. “I guess you could look at this and say this is one of the silver linings to come from the earthquake.”

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Mary Travis, manager of transit programs for the Ventura County Transportation Commission, said that Metrolink service to Camarillo will help relieve pressure on heavily congested, quake-hobbled Los Angeles-area freeways.

“We still have to work out schedules and logistics, but we are very excited about establishing a Metrolink stop in Camarillo,” Travis said. “We believe that it will have a noticeable impact on reducing traffic into L.A. We see this as a crisis opportunity to benefit Ventura County.”

Travis said that on Monday, Metrolink ridership was up 15% out of the two existing stations in the county, Moorpark and Simi Valley.

At the Lewis Road site, a small strip of asphalt running adjacent to the tracks is the only improvement to distinguish the location as a train stop. A dirt lot next to the tracks will eventually be paved for use as a parking lot. Other improvements at the site will include a wheelchair ramp and a station canopy.

“What we would like to see is the station up and operating as soon as possible in order to relieve as much traffic as we can,” Travis said. “Over time, we will make the other improvements. The key is to get this thing running quickly.”

Joining Camarillo city leaders in hailing the announcement was Ventura County Supervisor John K. Flynn.

Flynn said that while establishing a Metrolink stop in Camarillo is a start, he will continue to push for additional stops in Oxnard and Ventura.

“Our first priority should be to do anything that we can to help relieve the quake-related transportation problems,” Flynn said. “But I still firmly believe that we need at the very least a Metrolink stop in Oxnard. It only makes sense--it already has a fully developed train station there.”

According to Peter Hidalgo, a Metrolink spokesman, transportation officials on Monday were studying whether federal emergency funds will be extended to pay for a Metrolink stop in Oxnard.

“Oxnard is still in the running,” Hidalgo said. “We are just not at the point where we can say whether it will happen now or in the future. We’ll know soon.”

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For Camarillo City Councilman Michael Morgan, establishment of service there means an extra measure of convenience for city residents, including himself. Morgan now rides the train from Moorpark to his Downtown Los Angeles office three days a week.

“I think you’ll find that people who might not want to drive to Moorpark or Simi to catch the train will take advantage of it here,” Morgan said. “I think it’s great.”