County to Study Metro Rail Extension to Northeast Valley : Transit: The Transportation Commission will consider linking the proposed North Hollywood station with San Fernando and Sylmar.

County transportation officials will undertake a study of a proposed Metro Rail extension into the northeast San Fernando Valley, where residents are more dependent on public transportation than in any other part of the Valley.

The Los Angeles County Transportation Commission agreed Wednesday to study extending lines from the proposed North Hollywood Metro Rail station into San Fernando and Sylmar.

“There’s a lot of growth in that part of the Valley,” said Nikolas Patsaouras, president of the Southern California Rapid Transit District board and a member of the county Transportation Commission. “The immigrant groups that are moving in, especially the Hispanic community, are desperately in need of mass transit to go to work and other services.

“So far, they have been neglected,” he said.

Last week, the Transportation Commission completed a survey that showed that 16% of northeast Valley residents rely on buses. The need in other parts of the Valley ranged from 3% to 9%, the survey said.

The proposed northern extension would be constructed in addition to a 29.5-mile commuter railroad line linking Santa Clarita Valley with Union Station in Los Angeles in October, 1992.

A Transportation Commission spokesman said the proposed Metro Rail extension would run in slightly different areas and probably serve local, short-distance commuters. The train line is targeted at those traveling longer distances.

The Metro Rail study will examine two routes from the North Hollywood station, planned at Lankershim and Chandler boulevards:

* The extension could travel north on Lankershim, then northwest along San Fernando Road to Sylmar.

* The extension could begin at the Glendale Amtrak station and follow San Fernando Road directly to Sylmar. A westbound spur along Chandler Boulevard would connect this proposed line to the North Hollywood station.

The commission’s staff will provide a report to the commission’s Planning and Mobility Committee at a later date, a county spokesman said.

Consultants and staff members will study both aboveground and subway rail options and conduct public hearings.

The federal government has already promised $550 million to finance construction of the Metro Rail from Hollywood to North Hollywood.

A tentative completion date for the North Hollywood station is 2001, a commission spokesman said.