Simi Valley station

Simi Valley station is a passenger rail station in the city of Simi Valley, California. Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner from San Luis Obispo to San Diego and Metrolink's Ventura County Line from Los Angeles Union Station to East Ventura stop here.

Simi Valley
Simi Valley station platform in 2013
General information
Location	5050 Los Angeles Avenue Simi Valley, California United States
Coordinates	34°16′13″N 118°41′43″W / 34.27028°N 118.69528°W / 34.27028; -118.69528
Owned by	City of Simi Valley
Line(s)	SCRRA Ventura Subdivision^[1]
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	1
Connections	Amtrak Thruway: 4 Simi Valley Transit: 20 VCTC Intercity: Cross County, East County
Construction
Parking	270 spaces
Bicycle facilities	Racks
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Status	Unstaffed, platform with shelters
Station code	Amtrak: SIM
History
Opened	October 18, 1982 (1982-10-18) (CalTrain) October 26, 1986 (1986-10-26) (Amtrak)
Passengers
FY 2022	26,689^[2] (Amtrak only)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Oxnard toward Seattle Coast Starlight Van Nuys toward Los Angeles Moorpark toward San Luis Obispo Pacific Surfliner Chatsworth toward San Diego Preceding station Metrolink Following station Moorpark toward Ventura–East Ventura County Line Chatsworth toward Los Angeles
Former services Preceding station CalTrain Following station Moorpark towards Oxnard Los Angeles–Oxnard Chatsworth towards Los Angeles Preceding station Southern Pacific Railroad Following station Moorpark toward San Francisco Coast Line Chatsworth toward Los Angeles
Location

Simi Valley station is served by eight Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains (four in each direction) every day, with departures evenly spaced throughout the day. Sixteen Metrolink Ventura County Line trains (eight in each direction) serve the station each weekday, running primarily at peak hours in the peak direction of travel. Two round trips operate on weekends. Metrolink passengers also have access to four of the Pacific Surfliner trains (two in each direction) each day through a codesharing arrangement with Amtrak.^[3] Amtrak's Coast Starlight serves the station with one train daily in each direction.^[4]

Of the 74 California stations served by Amtrak, Simi Valley was the 37th-busiest in FY2012, boarding or detraining an average of approximately 111 passengers daily.^[5]

History

 

The Amtrak San Diegan at Simi Valley station in January 1992

The Southern Pacific Railroad built a line between Ventura and Los Angeles, as an alternate to the Montalvo to Newhall line. The first passenger station to serve the Rancho Simi area was the Santa Susana Depot, originally located at Tapo Street and Los Angeles Avenue.^[6] The depot served the community of Santa Susana which is now mostly within the city of Simi Valley. The historic Santa Susana Depot building has since been preserved and moved three miles east of its original location.

A station parking location at Surveyor Street (just west of Tapo Street) was acquired for CalTrain by 1982. The station opened with the inauguration of CalTrain on October 18, 1982.^[7][8][9] The CalTrain service was discontinued in 1983. The Amtrak Coast Starlight began stopping the former CalTrain station on October 26, 1986.^[10][11] On June 26, 1988, Amtrak extended one daily San Diegan round trip to Santa Barbara, stopping at Simi Valley.^[12][13] Metrolink Ventura County Line service began on October 26, 1992, stopping at most former CalTrain stations (except Oxnard, which Metrolink began serving after the 1994 Northridge earthquake).^[14] Amtrak switched to the Metrolink station, located about one mile east of Tapo Avenue, at that time.^[15]

A project to improve the station was announced in 2020. The plan includes a second passenger platform and pedestrian crossing along with a second track which would allow eastbound and westbound trains to be at the station at the same time.^[16] The double track would extend about 2 miles (3.2 km) to the west of the station and include improvements at several intersections. As part of the Southern California Optimized Rail Expansion Program, the project will improve safety, enable more frequent service and make existing service more reliable.^[17]

References

1. SMA Rail Consulting (April 2016). "California Passenger Rail Network Schematics" (PDF). California Department of Transportation.
2. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2022: State of California" (PDF). Amtrak. June 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
3. "Metrolink Timetable" (PDF). Metrolink. July 1, 2023. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
4. "Coast Starlight Timetable" (PDF). Rail Passengers Association. April 4, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
5. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2012, State of California" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2012. Retrieved 2013-05-11.
6. Bill Appleton; Simi Valley Historical Society (10 August 2009). Santa Susana. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4396-3820-0. OCLC 700950508.
7. "Commuter train ready to go". Simi Valley Star. October 17, 1982. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "IT'S HERE. The start of the line". The Press-Courier. 25 October 1982. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
9. Rail Passenger Development Plan ...: As Required by Section 14036 of the Government Code. State of California, Department of Transportation. 1984. OCLC 12385802.
10. Rail Passenger Development Plan: 1988-93 Fiscal Years. Sacramento, CA: Division of Mass Transportation, Caltrans. 1988. p. 37. OCLC 18113227.
11. Rail Passenger Development Plan: 1988 Through 1993 Fiscal Years. California Department of Transportation - Division of Mass Transportation. 1988. p. 48 – via Google Books.
12. Rail Passenger Development Plan: 1990 Through 1995 Fiscal Years. California Department of Transportation - Division of Mass Transportation. 1988. pp. 60–61 – via Google Books.
13. "Burbank—Airport, CA (BUR)". Great American Stations. Amtrak.
14. "History of Metrolink". Southern California Regional Rail Authority. 2017.
15. Benitez, Mary Ann (February 14, 1992). "Metrolink station focus of attention". Simi Valley Star. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
16. Harris, Mike (December 23, 2020). "Metrolink planning $86.5 million rail project in Simi Valley to increase train frequency". Ventura County Star. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
17. Hymon, Steve (2021-07-27). "Metrolink certifies Final EIR for Simi Valley Double Track Project". The Source. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved 2022-03-19.

External links

  Media related to Simi Valley station at Wikimedia Commons

• Simi Valley at the Metrolink website

• Simi Valley, CA – Amtrak
• Simi Valley, CA – Station history at Great American Stations (Amtrak)
• Simi Valley Amtrak-Metrolink Station (USA RailGuide -- TrainWeb)