New Metrolink commuter rail service from Moorpark to Goleta presented Wednesday

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – South Coast members of the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments met Wednesday to affirm efforts to bring Metrolink's commuter train service to the county.

The estimated cost for the first year of operation of the potential morning commuter line starting in Moorpark and ending in Goleta is $4.4 million.

Currently proposed stops for the commuter line are detailed in an image from the presentation below.

The Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) Board of Directors tasked staff to prepare a formal agreement that will be available for acceptance later this summer and would include Metrolink, the Ventura County Transportation Commission, and rail agency LOSSAN.

If that agreement is approved, the new train service could begin as early as October of this year.

The program will initially be limited to a one-year pilot demonstration with options to extend the service.

The proposal is expected to be funded by SBCAG Measure A South Coast Subprogram, the Ventura County Transportation Commission, and future fare revenues.

"The fact the Santa Barbara County voters overwhelmingly approved $25 million 15 years ago to help make commuter rail a possibility speaks volumes to the long-standing desire and commitment the central coast has to see a viable commuter rail service between the two counties," said Lauren Bianchi Klemann, Public Information Manager for SBCAG.