The San Fernando Line was a part of the Pacific Electric Railway system in Los Angeles County, California. It was designed to increase the reach of public transportation from the Downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood into the San Fernando Valley, to support land speculation and development expanding Los Angeles.

Isaac Newton Van Nuys was an American businessman, farmer and rancher who owned the entire southern portion of the San Fernando Valley, an area 15 miles long and 6 miles wide. With the approach of the Owens River aqueduct and the possibility of intensive small farming, Los Angeles speculators, including Harry Chandler of the Los Angeles Times, combined to buy out Van Nuys in 1909 and develop the San Fernando Valley.