Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Heidt Gets a Look at Work on Rail Line

Santa Clarita City Councilwoman Jan Heidt got a firsthand look Monday at work being done on Metrolink tracks that is expected to halve the commuting time from the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys to Downtown Los Angeles.

“The scope of work out there has been tremendous,” said Heidt, who also serves as an alternate Metrolink board member. “It will make a big impact on commuter rail.”

Since February, workers have been installing state-of-the-art signals and straightening parts of the 50-mile stretch of tracks in use since the Northridge earthquake to provide immediate train service to Antelope Valley and Canyon Country commuters.

Ironing out the curves in the railway will allow Metrolink trains to travel at normal speeds, reducing travel time for commuters by up to 45 minutes. The 78-mile trip from Lancaster to Los Angeles now takes an hour and 15 minutes.

“We’re going to be traveling at considerably faster speeds,” Metrolink spokesman Peter Hidalgo said.

Funded by $25 million in earthquake-related grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the improvements are expected to be completed by late June.

In the meantime, Metrolink will continue to offer special discount fares through June to Antelope Valley commuters, who can receive half off monthly passes, and Santa Clarita commuters, who can get a 25% discount. That means, for example, that a monthly pass from Lancaster to Los Angeles is going for $104, compared with the regular $208 fare.

Hidalgo also ridership has been growing since the Jan. 17 quake, when trains carried 1,000 commuters from the north county in contrast to the 8,000 travelers now riding daily.

“Our ridership continues to hold,” Hidalgo said.

More coverage of the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys appears today on B7.