Authority puts $1.75M toward Metrolink train station

A new Metrolink train station appears to be on track on the north side of Bob Hope Airport, connecting the airfield with the Antelope Valley.

The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority this week committed $1.75 million toward building the station at Hollywood Way and San Fernando Road.

The station would be a significant addition to Metrolink's Antelope Valley line, said Don Sepulveda, executive officer for regional rail for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which would administer the project.

“We believe that this is a very important station for not just the airport but also the Metrolink system, and it really enhances the regional connectivity that I know the airport is interested in,” he said.

MTA, along with other funding sources, will make up the difference to pay for the station, which is expected to cost between $3 million and $4 million, according to airport officials.

Dan Feger, the airport's executive director, said he would like to see the new station built as soon as possible.

“Don't tie it up with a lot of studies and delays and whatnot,” he said at the meeting, adding that it was long overdue. “Move the project forward in an expeditious fashion.”

The airport has been pushing to connect better with public transit.

“We believe that it's a need that should have been fulfilled years ago. Metrolink should have had a station here when it opened in 1992, but it didn't,” he said.

The existing right of way can accommodate a new station, Feger said, adding that the track would not have to be reconfigured.

Metrolink already has a station south of the airport along West Empire Drive, which leads to Union Station.

The new station will hopefully reduce traffic around the airport, particularly on Hollywood Way, Feger said.

“This is a strong message to the transportation world that we mean business,” he said. “We want to put our money where out mouth is. We want to do things that reduce the impact of traffic in this city and the region [and] provide other alternatives for transportation that this region deserves.”