The board of Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, or Metro, voted Thursday to build a light rail system down the center of Van Nuys Boulevard. The East San Fernando Valley Transit Corridor project would run for 9.2 miles between the Van Nuys Orange Line station and the Metrolink station in Sylmar. Funding for the project will come from Measure M, a voter initiative in 2016 that approved a half-cent sales tax for transportation. Stuart Waldman, president of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association, said in a statement the rail line will encourage development in historically underserved neighborhoods of the East Valley and called rail “transformative” for the Valley economy. “For years, VICA has led advocacy and coalition-building efforts to grow support for bringing rail to the San Fernando Valley. This is exactly what Valley residents voted for when they stood with VICA and supported Measure M,” Waldman said in this statement. Construction on the $1.3 billion project is scheduled to begin in 2021 or 2022 and be completed in time for the 2028 Summer Olympics. It will have 14 at-grade stations to serve three-car trains that can accommodate up to 400 passengers.
