Four years after kicking off the environmental review process for the Sepulveda Transit Corridor project, Metro staff have recommended pursuing a heavy rail subway for the congested corridor parallel to the 405 Freeway.

Metro's Board of Directors is slated to vote at its January meeting to select a locally preferred alternative for the project, which would include an initial phase spanning between Van Nuys and Westwood. Staff are recommending a modified version of Alternative 5 from the project's environmental impact report, calling for a fully-underground heavy rail line between the Van Nuys Metrolink Station and the E Line's Expo/Sepulveda Station. But unlike the original version of Alternative 5, the route of this modified alternative would be located beneath Van Nuys Boulevard rather than veering west to travel along Sepulveda Boulevard, resulting in an overall shorter and more direct route.

Proposed route of Modified Alternative 5Metro

According to a news release, Alternative 5 calls for the use of automated train sets in a single-bore terminal running at frequencies of 2.5 minutes during peak hours. This option would also allow phasing, with an initial operating segment running between the G Line in Van Nuys and the D Line in Westwood.

Metro staff believe that the modified alternative could exceed the estimated 18-minute trip between the Van Nuys Metrolink Station and E Line that was expected in the original. This option also allows for the elimination of a ventilation shaft in the Santa Monica Mountains, eliminates aerial structures that prompted opposition in the Valley, and still facilitates an on-campus station at UCLA. The estimated cost of Alternative 5 was $24.2 billion in 2023, and would be revised to reflect the modified project. Metro will require additional financing, including government grands and private investment, to complete the project.

Past ridership forecasts for the Sepulveda rail line have estimated that the project could attract between 122,000 and 137,000 daily riders based on 2042 conditions. 

Staff had also considered other heavy rail alignments, as well as two options which call for building the project as a monorail.

Metro C Line extension's hybrid alternativeMetro

The Board is also slated to vote in January to certify the final environmental impact report for the C Line's Torrance extension (which will in fact operate as part of the K Line, following the recent realignment of the two services). The 4.5-mile corridor would run parallel to the 405 from Redondo Beach to a new top in Torrance, with an intermediate stop near the South Bay Galleria shopping mall.

Metro is opting for a "hybrid" alternative making use of a historic rail right-of-way owned by the agency. While trains were initially planned to run partially at-grade, the current plan is for the transit line to be fully-segregated from vehicular cross-traffic.

With $890 million in local dedicated funding for the project, Metro will need to pursue additional grant money to complete the more than $2-billion project, which is expected to generate more than 11,500 daily trips. 

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