PAIRING UP: Ah, the romance of the...

PAIRING UP: Ah, the romance of the rails. . . . Will Blankley, 29, of Thousand Oaks and Katia Ramirez, 33, of Simi Valley met a year ago during their one-hour Metrolink commute from the Simi Valley station to Downtown Los Angeles. Today, the love-struck commuters will announce their engagement at Union Station in front of a 100-ton locomotive sporting a giant heart-shaped wreath. . . . They’ll have a “train cake” at their April wedding--but plan to carry the railway theme through only to a point. “They didn’t want to go overboard,” said Metrolink spokesman Peter Hidalgo.

HOLDING OUT: There’s hardly a mad rush to the altar these days. . . . Single Americans are waiting longer to marry, U.S. census figures show. . . . In 1993, the median age for first marriages was 24.5 for women and 26.5 for men. . . . Two out of 10 women and three of 10 men between the ages of 25 and 29 were single.

MAKING OUT: If you’ve waited until the last minute to buy that bouquet of Valentine’s Day roses or a nice, mushy card, be prepared to stand in line. . . . Love is big business--and it’s getting bigger every year. Sales of Valentine’s Day cards skyrocketed nationwide between 1987 and 1992, from $128 million to $210 million. At Loma Vista Florist in Ventura, the line Monday was already eight deep. “People are spending more,” said owner JoAnne Wyman. “There’s nothing like a red rose for Valentine’s Day--be it a single rose or a dozen.”

HELPING OUT: Some Thousand Oaks schoolchildren will be sending symbols of their love across the globe to survivors of the earthquake in Kobe, Japan (B4). . . . Students from Madrona Elementary School spent a rainy Monday collecting pledges for red and white carnations. Proceeds from the sales, earmarked for quake victims, will go to the local chapter of the American Red Cross. Said Billy Ferrell, 11: “It makes me feel pretty good that we are helping other people.”