Via Princessa station

Via Princessa
Via Princessa
Metrolink commuter rail station
	Via Princessa station platform
Location	19201 Via Princessa; Santa Clarita, California 91351
Coordinates	34°24′30″N 118°28′08″W / 34.40833°N 118.46889°WCoordinates: 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 "Park and Ride" lot spaces
Bicycle facilities	Lockers, Bikeway Connection
Disabled access	Yes
History
Opened	February 7, 1994
Services
show Future services
Location
	Wikimedia \| © OpenStreetMap

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

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.^[3] 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.^[4] 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.^[4] 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.^[5] 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.

In the future, Via Princessa station may be replaced or supplemented by a new station in Santa Clarita's future Vista Canyon development.^[6] In May 2018, Caltrans announced that it would grant $8.9 million towards the total cost of $28.2 million to build the new Vista Canyon station.^[7]

Service[]

22 Metrolink trains now^[when?] serve the station on weekdays and 12 trains serve the station on Saturday and Sunday. Sunday service began in September 2007.^{[citation needed]} Weekday Metrolink service runs primarily at peak hours in the peak direction of travel while weekend departures and arrivals are fairly evenly spaced throughout the day.

Platforms and tracks[]

Main track	■ Antelope Valley Line	toward Lancaster (Vincent Grade/Acton)
Main track	■ Antelope Valley Line	toward L.A. Union Station (Santa Clarita)

Connections[]

As of October 2020, City of Santa Clarita Transit provides minimal direct local bus service to the station on local route 12.^[8] 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.^[8] 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.
^ 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.
^ Jump up to: ^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.
^ Daly, Krista (July 4, 2016). "Fate of Via Princessa Metrolink station up in the air". The Santa Clarita Valley Signal. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
^ "State Kicking in $8.9 Mil. for New Metrolink Station at Vista Canyon Ranch". SCVNews.com. May 18, 2018. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "City of Santa Clarita Transit Local Schedule" (PDF). July 1, 2019. pp. 10–12. Retrieved October 28, 2020.

External links[]

Via Princessa at the Metrolink website

[schematics-1] SMA Rail Consulting (April 2016). "California Passenger Rail Network Schematics" (PDF). California Department of Transportation. p. 17.

[feb1994opening-2] Goldsmith, Susan (February 8, 1994). "Metrolink Station Opens Despite Weather". The Signal. Santa Clarita, California. p. 3. Retrieved January 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[history-3] Gbenekama, Delana G. (October 2012). Metrolink 20th Anniversary Report (PDF). HWDS and Associates, Inc. pp. 9, 48. Retrieved May 21, 2018.

[LATimes_Opening-4] Jump up to: ^a ^b Moeser, Sharon (February 5, 1994). "Santa Clarita Train Line to Get 5th Station". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 21, 2018.

[SubwayNut-5] Cox, Jeremiah (February 25, 2012). "Via Princessa". The SubwayNut. Retrieved May 21, 2018.

[6] Daly, Krista (July 4, 2016). "Fate of Via Princessa Metrolink station up in the air". The Santa Clarita Valley Signal. Retrieved May 21, 2018.

[7] "State Kicking in $8.9 Mil. for New Metrolink Station at Vista Canyon Ranch". SCVNews.com. May 18, 2018. Retrieved June 4, 2018.

[Santa_Clarita_Transit_Local_Schedule-8] Jump up to: ^a ^b "City of Santa Clarita Transit Local Schedule" (PDF). July 1, 2019. pp. 10–12. Retrieved October 28, 2020.

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show v t Metrolink
Lines	91/Perris Valley Line Antelope Valley Line Inland Empire–Orange County Line Orange County Line Riverside Line San Bernardino Line Ventura County Line
Connecting rail	Amtrak Amtrak California Coaster Metro Rail Sprinter OC Streetcar (2023) Arrow (2022)
Governing agencies	Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Orange County Transportation Authority Riverside County Transportation Commission San Bernardino County Transportation Authority Ventura County Transportation Commission
Ex officio agencies	San Diego Association of Governments Southern California Association of Governments State of California
Other information	List of stations Metrolink rolling stock Transportation in Los Angeles Transportation in the Inland Empire

show v t Metrolink Antelope Valley Line
Stations	Los Angeles Union Station Glendale Downtown Burbank Burbank Airport–North Sun Valley Sylmar/San Fernando Newhall Santa Clarita Via Princessa Vincent Grade/Acton Palmdale Lancaster
Future	Vista Canyon
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority

show v t Santa Clarita Valley
City	Santa Clarita
Neighborhoods	Agua Dulce Canyon Country Sand Canyon Castaic Newhall Saugus Stevenson Ranch Valencia unincorporated residential villages Val Verde
Public schools	Acton-Agua Dulce Unified School District Castaic Union School District Newhall School District Saugus Union School District Sulphur Springs School District William S. Hart Union High School District Academy of the Canyons Canyon HS Castaic HS Golden Valley HS Hart HS Saugus HS Valencia HS West Ranch HS Foothill League
Private schools	Santa Clarita Christian School
Colleges and universities	California Institute of the Arts College of the Canyons The Master's University
Points of interest	Beale's Cut Castaic Lake Central Park Golden Oak Ranch Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital Hyatt Regency Valencia Mentryville Newhall Pass Pitchess Detention Center Placerita Canyon State Park Pioneer Oil Refinery Santa Clarita Woodlands Park Saugus Speedway Six Flags Magic Mountain Valencia Country Club Vasquez Rocks Westfield Valencia Town Center William S. Hart Ranch and Museum
Services	Los Angeles County Fire Department Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Media	KHTS (AM) The Santa Clarita Valley Signal
Transportation	City of Santa Clarita Transit Metrolink: Antelope Valley Line Newhall station Santa Clarita station Via Princessa station Lang Southern Pacific Station (historic)
History	St. Francis Dam disaster United Airlines Trip 34 Newhall incident 1971 San Fernando earthquake Twilight Zone accident 1994 Northridge earthquake James Beck Shootout Sand Fire Rye Fire Tick Fire Saugus High School shooting
Companies	condomman.com Honda Performance Development Mechanix Wear Newhall Land and Farming Company Princess Cruises Precision Dynamics Corporation Remo WayForward