Steps Taken to Make Metrolink Stop Permanent : Transportation: Palmdale will pay part of needed cost for station improvements, which must be made to ensure continued commuter service to the high desert.

Tucked up against an aging horse corral and in view of hillsides now ablaze with wildflowers, the hastily constructed Vincent Grade Metrolink station was a godsend to Antelope Valley commuters in the wake of the Northridge earthquake.

Metrolink service to this area was not scheduled to begin for about a decade, but with crucial freeway bridges collapsed, leaving commuters to face hours of delays on detour roads, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority used federal disaster relief dollars to quickly build a platform station and began running trains to the Antelope Valley.

Although ridership on the line fell off sharply after the freeways were repaired, MTA kept the line going.

But the county now has declared that the Vincent Grade station--little more than a long parking lot with a half-dozen covered benches, ticket machines, telephone booths and portable toilets--must be brought up to code if the service is to continue. And while the facility will remain essentially unchanged, the cost of the required improvements is placed at $1.5 million.

Fearing that a shutdown of the station could jeopardize Metrolink service to the entire Antelope Valley, the Palmdale City Council has agreed to pay part of the cost. At a meeting last week, the council voted 3 to 1 to contribute $200,000 toward making the temporary station permanent. Los Angeles County officials, who have jurisdiction over the five-acre site, have offered another $287,000 toward the work.

Palmdale City Council members say Metrolink’s steep operating costs and relatively low ridership did give them pause. Nevertheless, a majority decided it was important to support the Acton station, which offers Palmdale residents a way to get their cars off congested freeways.

“I think it’s absolutely critical that we make an investment in alternative transportation,” Councilman David Myers said.

Mayor Jim Ledford and Councilman Jim Root sided with Myers, but Councilman Joe Davies voted no. Davies said he would prefer to spend money on commuter buses, which are cheaper to run and not restricted to rail routes.

It costs $4 million a year to run Metrolink trains to the Antelope Valley, Davies said, and passenger fares cover only a quarter of that expense. “The subsidizing (needed) on rail service is horrendous,” the councilman said.

Palmdale’s action, however, might just save the station and service to the area. County officials say it’s very likely they can secure a grant to cover the remaining costs now that Palmdale has pitched in funds.

Metrolink spokesman Francisco Oaxaca said the MTA has invested $38 million in federal aid to improve the tracks between the Santa Clarita and the Antelope valleys and would be reluctant to abandon that investment. But the temporary station in Acton must be spruced up, he said, to help the rail line build ridership.

“We don’t see us being able to do it effectively if the station stays in its current state,” Oaxaca said.

The station, situated just south of Angeles Forest Highway, has 200 paved parking spaces, but could accommodate another 400 cars in an adjacent dirt lot. In the weeks after the quake, ridership on the Santa Clarita line, which includes Antelope Valley stops, peaked at about 11,000 daily two-way riders. The ridership is now about 2,300 daily.