YORBA LINDA

In as little as a year, commuters headed to Los Angeles may be able to save themselves the agony of bumper-to-bumper traffic by boarding Metrolink trains departing from Yorba Linda.

The city is drawing up preliminary plans for a train station at the west juncture of New River and Esperanza roads. The depot would be served by Metrolink trains, Public Works Director Roy Stephenson said.

“They basically said that if we build the station their trains will stop,” Stephenson said. “That means people from this area can take the train all the way to downtown Los Angeles.”

Preliminary designs are expected to be approved soon by Southern California Edison, which owns part of the land. The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad owns the other part and would also have to approve the plans. The city is still looking for about $3 million to build the $4-million facility.