Officials await results from public hearings before making any further Metro Rail plans.

Traveling on the promise of easing the transportation crunch, the proposed Metro Rail line in the San Fernando Valley is moving forward and has reached the phase where public opinion will play a decisive role in its final plans.

Testimony at two public hearings, held last week by the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, will carry significant weight, said LACTC board member Nick Patsaouras.

"We are currently in the public review period," said agency spokesman Michael Bustamante. He said the official transcripts of the sessions are due by Jan. 10. A decision is scheduled after that date.

One of the primary decisions facing the commission is the route the line will take. Patsaouras said it will be routed either through the Burbank/Chandler corridor or along the Ventura (101) Freeway.

The Ventura Freeway route, a proposed aerial guideway, would span 16.2 miles from Universal City to Warner Center and cost an estimated $2.25 billion. The Burbank route, a subway, would stretch 14 miles from North Hollywood to Warner Center and cost approximately $2.65 billion.

"Those were February estimates," said Bustamante. However, the actual price depends on the vagaries of the bid process.

A third option, to run a 15.7-mile Metro Rail extension adjacent to Ventura Boulevard, was dropped, said Patsouras. That project was estimated at $3.88 billion.

Patsaouras said that the east-west line would be a turnkey operation -- built and funded by the private sector but run by the commission -- similar to the LAX-Palmdale line. That option would mean the rail line would materialize quicker than if it was built entirely by the commission, already overloaded with projects, said Bustamante.

Requests for bid proposals to build both routes -- LAX-Palmdale and the valley -- have already been released and should be ready by April 1992, Bustamante said.

Ralph M. Parsons Co. in Pasadena is the only company which has taken out a request for proposal for just the San Fernando Valley line. Firms interested in both the LAX-Palmdale line as well as the San Fernando line include A.E.G. Westinghouse, Matra Transport and the Dynatran division of Dynalectric Co.

The Japanese firm HSST Corp. is also interested in the project. Earlier HSST announced that, to showcase its new magnetic levitation technology, it would construct a system connecting the Chatsworth station to Warner Center in Woodland Hills.

"I have referred this to the commission," said Patsaouras. If the commission approves the project, which would be fully funded by the Japanese, it could be built within a year.

The HSST proposal is under review by the LACTC's Planning and Mobility Improvement Committee, which is expected to arrive at a decision in the next few weeks.

Whatever the option chosen for the San Fernando Valley, "this is an excellent opportunity for the public at large to receive an operating rail line," Bustamante said.

"We can't get it soon enough," said Bonny Matheson, president of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association.

Of the proposed routes, the Burbank one would be the most advantageous because it is estimated to have "higher rider capacity," she said.