Metro's East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Now Carries a $2.43 Billion Construction Contract

LA Metro's East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit project, the first light rail line in the San Fernando Valley, is moving into major construction. The Metro Board of Directors approved a 1.99 billion dollar amendment to its progressive design-build contract with San Fernando Transit Constructors, a joint venture of Skanska and Stacy and Witbeck, bringing the total contract value to 2.43 billion dollars, and set a life-of-project budget of just under 4 billion dollars.

The 6.7-mile line will run at street level in the median of Van Nuys Boulevard with 11 stations: Van Nuys Metro G Line, Victory, Vanowen, Sherman Way, Van Nuys Metrolink, Roscoe, Nordhoff, Woodman, Arleta, Laurel Canyon and San Fernando. Funding includes an 893 million dollar federal grant, 1.02 billion dollars from Measure M and additional state and county sources. Metro's project timeline shows major construction from 2026 to 2031, and its most recent status report targets the start of revenue service in January 2032, with trains every 7 to 10 minutes at peak. Metro notes that the last Pacific Electric train ran down Van Nuys Boulevard in 1952.

A 2.5-mile northern light rail extension to the Sylmar/San Fernando Metrolink station is not moving forward for now; in December 2025 the Metro board directed staff to pursue a new Pacoima Metrolink station and mobility hub instead.