In June 2018, Metro staff recommended the corridor be built as an at-grade rail line without tunneling, making it a part of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system.[2] In December 2020, Metro approved the Final EIR with the option to build the rail line in segments.[6]
On December 2, 2022, Metro officially began advanced utility relocation for the line.[7] The tentative completion date for the first phase of the project is 2031.[8]
The Pacific ElectricSan Fernando Line ran a north–south line between Downtown Los Angeles and San Fernando, partially on Van Nuys Avenue, from 1911 to 1952 before being dismantled and converted to bus service. The project route was portrayed in the project map included in the 1980 Proposition A documentation. Metro Rapid bus lines that serve the route as of 2022[update] are route 761 on Van Nuys Boulevard, with additional Metro Local lines supplementing both. Planning for the line will take into consideration other major planned infrastructure projects, including a Sepulveda Transit Corridor rail link, the conversion of the G Line from bus rapid transit to light rail, and double tracking of the MetrolinkAntelope Valley Line.
The Draft Environmental Impact Report was completed and released in September 2017,[11] and the final clearance was granted by the Federal Transit Administration in February 2021.[12]
By 2020, funds were being acquired, with $800 million coming from Measure M, $200 million from Road Repair and Accountability Act gas tax, and $200 million from other state-level sources.[13] In 2022, the Federal Transit Administration issued a Letter of Intent to provide $909 million to fund the project.[14] In 2024, this turned into a signed agreement for an $893 million federal grant from the United States Department of Transportation. This grant was received by Metro on September 6, 2024.[15] In January 2023, the project was awarded another $600 million out of the state's Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program, originating from the state's budget surplus in prior years.[16] The capital project cost for the first phase is estimated to be $3.635 billion.[17]
History
Six initial alternatives were developed during the environmental review process:[11]
Median-running light rail transit (LRT) with low-floor vehicles
35,800
$1.3
Alternative 6
Median-running LRT with high platform stations and some underground portions
47,400
$2.79
Route Selection: Alternative Six
In June 2018, Metro staff recommended a modified version of Alternative 6, using high-floor light rail vehicles like other Metro Rail lines but entirely on the street and at grade. The underground section between Sherman Way and Roscoe stations was eliminated due to the high costs of tunneling.[19]
Metro approved the project with $1.3 billion in funds, initiating the final EIR. The northern terminus will be the Sylmar/San Fernando Metrolink station. The light rail train will run southeast for two and a half miles (4.0 km) on San Fernando Road to Van Nuys Boulevard. It then heads south on Van Nuys Boulevard for five miles (8.0 km) reaching the Van Nuys Metrolink station. Its southern terminus will be the Van Nuys G Line station near L.A.'s Van Nuys City Hall two miles (3.2 km) further south.[20]
By 2023, Metro initiated a new study of the northern phase of the project to better plan for how to share the right of way with an expanded Antelope Valley Line.[23] Since development of the ESFVLRT began, Metrolink had released plans to double track their line, which was not adequately accounted for in the initial plans.
Construction
The line is planned to be built in two phases: the first runs from the Van Nuys G Line station to San Fernando Road with the remaining segment to be completed later.[12][24] Groundbreaking occurred in December 2022, with operations to begin in 2031.[25][26][8][27]
