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Via Princessa
Via Princessa
	Via Princessa station platform
General information
Location	19201 Via Princessa; Santa Clarita, California
Coordinates	34°24′30″N 118°28′08″W / 34.40833°N 118.46889°W
Owned by	City of Santa Clarita
Line(s)	SCRRA Valley Subdivision
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	1
Connections	City of Santa Clarita Transit: 12
Construction
Parking	395 spaces
Bicycle facilities	Racks, 10 lockers, bikeway connection
Accessible	Yes
History
Opened	February 7, 1994
Services
Location
Location

Via Princessa station is a Metrolink train station located in the Canyon Country neighborhood of the city of Santa Clarita, California. It is served by Metrolink's Antelope Valley Line between Los Angeles Union Station and Lancaster station.

History

When Metrolink service first began in 1992, trains terminated at the Santa Clarita station, but with plans to extend the line northeast to the Antelope Valley.^[5] Those plans were expedited by almost 10 years when the 1994 Northridge earthquake caused the collapse of the freeway connector of State Route 14 onto Interstate 5 at the Newhall Pass interchange. With funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency the Metrolink constructed an emergency extension of the line along existing rails to Lancaster to help relieve the traffic bottleneck.

The U.S. Navy Seabees construction battalion and crews from the L.A. County Public Works Department were able to construct the stations along the line in just a few days, compared to the normal three to six months. Emergency stations in Lancaster and Palmdale were built in just three days, and Metrolink started operating trains one week after the earthquake struck.

After the earthquake, the existing Santa Clarita station had become crowded as ridership surged. Metrolink built the Via Princessa station to relieve some of that crowding.^[6] The Via Princessa station was the last of the emergency stations to be built and opened on February 7, 1994, exactly three weeks after the earthquake hit.^[6] The station, like the other emergency stations, offered few amenities on opening day. There was only an asphalt platform, furnished with a few bus stop-style shelters, and a 400 space paved parking lot.

While most of the other emergency stations have since been replaced with permanent stations, the Via Princessa station remains remarkably similar to this day. The station still uses the same asphalt platform built after the earthquake.^[7] In the months following the earthquake, permanent shelters were added to the station (although the bus stop-style shelters remained), along with a covered area to purchase tickets from ticket vending machines and a small security guard office. In October 2008, a permanent building containing public restrooms and an office for station security officers was constructed in the station parking lot.

Service

Via Princessa station is served by 30 Metrolink Antelope Valley Line trains (15 in each direction) each weekday. Weekend service consists of 24 trains (12 in each direction) on both Saturday and Sunday. On all days, trains are evenly spaced throughout the day.^[8]

Connections

As of October 2020^[update], City of Santa Clarita Transit provides minimal direct local bus service to the station on local route 12.^[9] The trips are timed to meet the trains, on weekday mornings five trips from Canyon Country drop off passengers at the station, and on weekday evenings four trips pick up passengers at the station and travel to Canyon Country.^[9] Passengers on midday or weekend trains, or passengers wishing to travel south towards the Newhall and Friendly Valley neighborhoods must use the bus stops on Sierra Highway at Via Princessa, approximately 0.3 miles (0.48 km) away.

For passengers using bicycles, there is an entrance to the Santa Clara River Trail on Whites Canyon Road, an approximately 0.7-mile (1.1 km) ride north of the station. The City of Santa Clarita offers bicycle lockers for rent at the station for passengers who regularly travel to the station by bike.

References

^ SMA Rail Consulting (April 2016). "California Passenger Rail Network Schematics" (PDF). California Department of Transportation. p. 17.
^ "Via Princessa Train Station". Metrolink. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
^ "Santa Clarita Bike Lockers". City of Santa Clarita Transit. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
^ Goldsmith, Susan (February 8, 1994). "Metrolink Station Opens Despite Weather". The Signal. Santa Clarita, California. p. 3. Retrieved January 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Gbenekama, Delana G. (October 2012). Metrolink 20th Anniversary Report (PDF). HWDS and Associates, Inc. pp. 9, 48. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
^ ^a ^b Moeser, Sharon (February 5, 1994). "Santa Clarita Train Line to Get 5th Station". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
^ Cox, Jeremiah (February 25, 2012). "Via Princessa". The SubwayNut. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
^ "Metrolink Timetable" (PDF). Metrolink. October 23, 2023. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
^ ^a ^b "City of Santa Clarita Transit Local Schedule" (PDF). July 1, 2019. pp. 10–12. Retrieved October 28, 2020.