SAN FERNANDO VALLEY : Monorail Proposal Cheaper Than Subway, Report Says

A long-awaited report released Friday on the cost of two proposals for a rail link to the San Fernando Valley shows that a monorail would be nearly a quarter of a billion dollars cheaper than a subway.

According to the report, running an elevated monorail line along the median of the Ventura Freeway would cost $1.76 billion or more.

But a subway line identical to the one under construction on the other side of the Cahuenga Pass would cost at least $2 billion.

Completion of the cost analysis probably will put the issue on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s front burner again. It has languished as board members tried to deal with a $126-million deficit for this fiscal year.

The MTA board is expected to vote on which route to take and on which technology to use at its Oct. 26 meeting.

Supervisor Mike Antonovich, one of the most ardent boosters of the elevated rail line on the MTA’s board, said the report vindicates his support of the monorail plan.

“But the monorail’s lower cost isn’t its only advantage over the subway,” Antonovich said. “It will have 15 stations instead of 10, so many more people will be served.”