Metrolink will be offering more late night service on weekdays and doubling the amount of trains in service on weekends along its Antelope Valley line beginning Oct. 23.
The planned schedule changes will see the Southern California commuter rail service add nine new trains onto the Antelope Valley line, giving riders more flexibility and much later service on weekdays.
The Antelope Valley line runs between Lancaster and Union Station in downtown Los Angeles.
Weekday riders can now catch a ride on Metrolink departing from Lancaster as late as 10:11 p.m., and as late as 11:39 p.m. from Union Station in Los Angeles. Previously, the latest you could depart on weekdays from Lancaster was 6:11 p.m. and 9:39 p.m. from Union Station.
Metrolink said this expanded weekday service will provide more options for those with unconventional work schedules and allow travelers heading into Los Angeles to enjoy a night on the town or evening sporting events.
As part of the schedule shift, the early morning 200 train, which previously departed Lancaster at 3:41 a.m., has been canceled. But the 202 train departure has been moved up 30 minutes to 4:11 a.m., in hopes of mitigating some of the early morning commute changes, Metrolink said.
For weekend riders, the number of roundtrip trains has increased to 12, from the previous six that Metrolink offered. But those six new trains terminate at the Via Princessa station, meaning anyone traveling to and from Lancaster or Palmdale will still need to catch an earlier train.
The latest train from Lancaster will depart at 6:11 p.m. on weekends and the evening’s final train will arrive in Lancaster at 9:52 p.m.
Metrolink says the decision to terminate the additional routes at Via Princessa was due to “limitations of train engineers and conductors.”
But riders can travel to the Via Princessa station for later trains, and parking is free for all Metrolink riders, the rail service says.
The changing rail schedule will coincide with the opening of a new transit station in Santa Clarita.
The Vista Canyon Multi-Modal Center will open Oct. 23, and will offer Metrolink train service and bus transfers, as well as hundreds of free parking spots.
According to the City of Santa Clarita, the Vista Canyon transit station will feature a brand new railroad tracks, as well as offer benches, canopies, lighting, security system and 18 bike lockers.
Parking at Vista Canyon is free and overnight parking is permitted, but the lot will be monitored to ensure there aren’t any long-term parkers or campers.