Train Station to Get Added Parking

VAN NUYS —  The Van Nuys Amtrak/Metrolink station will add 115 parking spots, officials said.

Caltrans allocated $1.6 million to acquire the property and build the additional parking spaces for the station, on Van Nuys Boulevard north of Saticoy Street. On Wednesday, the City Council approved the transfer of funds to the city for the project.

The station currently has 229 parking spots and has had increased use by both Metrolink and Amtrak passengers. The station is on the Metrolink Ventura County line, which travels from Oxnard to Union Station.

Amtrak uses the station for eight of its trains that travel through Van Nuys. Eventually the Coast Starlight, which runs from Los Angeles to Seattle, may make a stop at the station, said Steve Horvath, an Amtrak service manager. The Van Nuys train platform may also be extended, he said.

When the station opened in 1995, it had only about a dozen parking spaces. A later expansion built a station with an indoor waiting area, restrooms and vending machines.

“We’re delighted to see that this station is becoming the No. 1 station in the Valley for Amtrak and Metrolink,” said Tom Henry, a deputy for Councilman Joel Wachs.