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, 2013
General information
Location5050 Los Angeles Avenue
Simi Valley, California
United States
Coordinates34°16′13″N 118°41′43″W / 34.27028°N 118.69528°W / 34.27028; -118.69528
Owned byCity of Simi Valley
Line(s)SCRRA Ventura Subdivision[1]
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks1
Connections
Construction
Parking569 spaces, 7 accessible spaces[2]
Bicycle facilitiesRacks
AccessibleYes
Other information
StatusUnstaffed, platform with shelters
Station codeAmtrak: SIM
History
Opened
  • October 18, 1982 (1982-10-18) (CalTrain)
  • October 26, 1986 (1986-10-26) (Amtrak)
Passengers
FY 202329,917[3] (Amtrak only)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Oxnard
toward Seattle
Coast Starlight Van Nuys
Moorpark Pacific Surfliner Chatsworth
toward San Diego
Preceding station Metrolink Following station
Moorpark Ventura County Line Chatsworth
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 Coast Line Chatsworth
Location
Map

Simi Valley station is served by ten Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains (five in each direction) every day and two Coast Starlight trains (one in each direction), with departures evenly spaced throughout the day.[4][5] Sixteen Metrolink Ventura County Line trains (eight in each direction) serve the station each weekday, running during peak hours in the peak direction of travel. On weekends, four Metrolink Ventura County Line trains (two in each direction) serve the station. Metrolink passengers also have access to all Pacific Surfliner trains through a codesharing arrangement with Amtrak.[6]

In Fiscal Year 2023, 29,917 passengers boarded or detrained at Simi Valley station.[3]

History

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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.[7] 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.[8][9][10] The CalTrain service was discontinued in 1983. The Amtrak Coast Starlight began stopping the former CalTrain station on October 26, 1986.[11][12] On June 26, 1988, Amtrak extended one daily San Diegan round trip to Santa Barbara, stopping at Simi Valley.[13][14] 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).[15] Amtrak switched to the Metrolink station, located about one mile east of Tapo Avenue, at that time.[16]

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.[17] 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.[18]

References

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  1. ^ SMA Rail Consulting (April 2016). "California Passenger Rail Network Schematics" (PDF). California Department of Transportation. p. 16.
  2. ^ a b "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2023: State of California" (PDF). Amtrak. March 2024. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  3. ^ "Pacific Surfliner Timetable" (PDF). Pacific Surfliner. October 6, 2023. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  4. ^ "Coast Starlight Timetable" (PDF). Rail Passengers Association. July 9, 2023. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  5. ^ Bill Appleton; Simi Valley Historical Society (10 August 2009). Santa Susana. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4396-3820-0. OCLC 700950508.
  6. ^ "Commuter train ready to go". Simi Valley Star. October 17, 1982. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "IT'S HERE. The start of the line". The Press-Courier. 25 October 1982. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  8. ^ Rail Passenger Development Plan ...: As Required by Section 14036 of the Government Code. State of California, Department of Transportation. 1984. OCLC 12385802.
  9. ^ Rail Passenger Development Plan: 1988-93 Fiscal Years. Sacramento, CA: Division of Mass Transportation, Caltrans. 1988. p. 37. OCLC 18113227.
  10. ^ Rail Passenger Development Plan: 1988 Through 1993 Fiscal Years. California Department of Transportation – Division of Mass Transportation. 1988. p. 48 – via Google Books.
  11. ^ Rail Passenger Development Plan: 1990 Through 1995 Fiscal Years. California Department of Transportation – Division of Mass Transportation. 1988. pp. 60–61 – via Google Books.
  12. ^ "Burbank—Airport, CA (BUR)". Great American Stations. Amtrak.
  13. ^ "History of Metrolink". Southern California Regional Rail Authority. 2017.
  14. ^ Benitez, Mary Ann (February 14, 1992). "Metrolink station focus of attention". Simi Valley Star. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ 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.
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  Media related to Simi Valley station at Wikimedia Commons


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