Full steam ahead for new Summerland railway project, will create new daily passenger trains

SUMMERLAND, Calif.—If you’re ever at a crossroads on whether to take the train the new Ortega siding project in Summerland will be a game changer.

It’s a project that’s been 20 years in the making, and now it’s received $22 million dollars in grant funding, so it’s not getting derailed.

The regional project will create flexibility in a critical coastal section of the rail corridor. 

“ It'd be like going from the fast lane to the slow lane on the freeway. And when whatever traffic goes past and you pull back into the fast lane, you keep going,” said Bryan MacDonald from the Ventura County Transportation Commission. 

Right now, the train only runs on a single track, which means trains can’t pass one another in the event of a slow down or stop. 
 
This causes many problems to arise including trains getting held in Santa Barbara or at Seacliff. 
 
“Right now we have single track systems which we call a main rail. The siding would be adjacent to it, so you would see two sets of tracks, but it wouldn't be the primary track to try and use. It would only be the track the transit uses when they need to get off the main line. So they jump on the side and stay there until the opposing traffic goes through. Then they jump back onto the main line,” said MacDonald.

“ This will facilitate getting additional train trips because more people will want to train, take the train if they know that it's going to be on time,” said County Supervisor Das Williams.
 
This new railway project is “on track” to be completed before 2026.