Northridge
 Chatsworth, CA | Pacific Surfliner | Burbank/Bob Hope Airport, CA  |
| Simi Valley, CA | Coast Starlight |
The Van Nuys Station opened with the first San Diegan trip that was extended to Santa Barbara on June 26, 1988. It was a stop previously, called Panorama City, on the ill-fated CalTrain commuter rail line that made two weekday round-trips from L.A.-Union Station to Oxnard between October 1982 and February 1983 (one Source, an ad for its debut). Metrolink began service to the station with its opening on October 26, 1992.
The present modern station building was dedicated on December 17, 1995 before that the station was unstaffed. Baggage service finally arrived in about April 2005 and today all five daily Pacific Surfliner Round-Trips plus the Coast Starlight (that also started to serve the station in April 2005, discontinuing its stop at Glendale) all received full baggage service. Baggage service was temporarily suspended in 2022 on all Pacific Surfliner trains due to budget issues caused by the long-term busitutions on the Surfliner Corridor after multiple landslides in the San Clemente area, but is still provided on the Coast Starlight.
Amtrak thruway buses stop at the station making four round-trips per day up to Bakersfield to meet San Joaquin Trains, these buses all continue south to Torrance, CA. These buses can also be used (in both directions e.g. to Torrance from Van Nuys) to connect with Pacific Surfliner Trains. Metrolink stops ten times per weekday with six of the trips during peak direction rush hours, two reverse peak trips and two midday round-trips.
The station itself is located just east of the Van Nuys Blvd underpass. When the station originally opened starting from the west it had a single side platform for a single platforming track (there are three minimum tracks in the station area due to the train yard the station is along). There is a staircase up from the east sidewalk of Van Nuys Blvd. This leads to the end of the platform where it has a small modern canopied stretch with benches beneath.
A short, covered walkway leads back to the depot; a modern silver single story building with glass walls on three sides surrounding the modern airy waiting room. Inside are two ticket windows with a baggage scale in between on the western fourth wall of the building. Benches are single metal seats with arms. This ticket office area leads out to a baggage cart shed whose modular metal characteristics make it look like it was added on later (which makes sense, it took ten years for the station to receive baggage service). The platform continues west with a Metrolink wheelchair mini-high platform at this end (to align with the rear door of the front car). This stopping characteristic here is a problem because Metrolink riders must board far away from the depot, a sign on a Metrolink Boarding Instructions panel tells riders to walk down the platform and that Amtrak's boarding location is right outside the depot.
The rest of the platform has just modern lampposts and three little blue metal bus shelters with a bench inside for passengers waiting outside. Signage is off both the standard Metrolink verity and unique, dark blue/grey signs that say Van Nuys Train Station with the old Metrolink, old Amtrak pointless arrow and Amtrak California logos beneath. A ramp/staircase and a second staircase lead down to the main parking lot at a slightly lower level, connected to an upper parking lot on the same level of the depot where the bus loop right before the only exit to Van Nuys Blvd across from the end of Keswick Street.
The station received a new island platform in January 2020, which allows to trains to stop at once at the station. This resulted in the closure (and all canopies removed, except the one that once covered the Metrolink TVMs outside the station house) of the former side platform. The former side platform area is now covered by fencing. The depot remains open for passenger use, although there is no fully covered path from the walkway to the new platform.
This new island platform is located just east of Van Nuys Blvd (with the two tracks starting to split of the 3 track line until just beyond the train bridge that goes across the overpass of Van Nuys Blvd). Passengers enter the new platform via an underpass, this is accessed from the street via ramp that begins 300 feet east of the station building via another short ramp to reach new ADA parking spaces at a lower elevation than the depot. There is also a staircase directly from the parking lot at the opposite side. The entrances have green fencing with doors on them to allow the station platform to be closed and locked overnight.
There are also two modern shelters that cover the station's TVMs, and a monitor that shows Metrolink upcoming departures, including Amtrak codeshares (All Pacific Surfliner Trains under a pilot program until at least June 2024) although these are marked as Metrolink Trains going to either "LA Union Station" or "East Ventura-Beach" instead of San Diego, Santa Barbara or San Louis Obispo, the actual far destinations with a valid Amtrak ticket.
This short tunnel leads (under decorative Van Nuys lettering) under a single track before arriving at a staircase directly up to near the western end of the platform, and a long ramp up through the middle of the platform (with a secondary little bridge over the ramp short ways after it begins). The ramp takes up about a quarter of the island platform's space arriving right in the middle of the platform. Surprisingly (in terms of not wanting unhoused people hanging out in the underpass) benches line the sides of the underpass.
The rest of the 850 foot platform contains three small silver canopy structures (one at the western end and two at the eastern end) that provide minimal shade and shelter, with the only seating on the planform via curved raised concrete bases on each shelter.
At the eastern end of the platform is a mini-high platform over the entire width of the island platform for ADA access to the one Metrolink door in the cab car of all Metrolink trains (a long walk from leaving the platform).
Platform signs are of the 2nd generation style and say "Van Nuys" on the dark green background with the logo of a Guardian Cab car in one corner and a separate Amtrak logo sign directly above them.
As of August 2023 the station has limited parking. This is due to a collection of trailers and a tent-like structure in the parking that that is being used as a shelter for unhoused people.
Photos 1-40: March 25, 2011; 41-
