Proposed Metrolink Service to Santa Barbara Cancelled; Pacific Surfliner Expansion Planned

Plans to extend Metrolink commuter rail service from Ventura County to Santa Barbara and Goleta have been abandoned, with the Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) Rail Corridor Agency instead moving forward with an expansion of Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner on the same route.

The decision was approved by the LOSSAN board of directors in November and is now before the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) for discussion and potential follow-up actions, according to Santa Barbara News-Press. The move effectively ends the proposed Metrolink pilot program.

The proposal stalled after months of contract-related delays and unresolved railroad access issues, the news report stated. Under the plan, Metrolink would have temporarily operated a morning peak-hour train using existing equipment while LOSSAN awaited additional trainsets and long-term funding.

The effort involved multiple agencies, including SBCAG, the Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC), LOSSAN, and Metrolink, and aimed to revive a morning peak-hour rail service between Ventura and Santa Barbara counties that was suspended in March 2020 at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Complicating matters further, Metrolink’s shift in service contractors from Amtrak to Alstom would have required LOSSAN to negotiate a new passenger rail operating agreement with Union Pacific Railroad, which owns the tracks. Union Pacific informed LOSSAN that any new agreement could not begin until the first quarter of 2026.

As a result of the delays, the LOSSAN board voted on November 17, 2025, to discontinue the Metrolink proposal and instead focus on directly expanding Pacific Surfliner service.

Under the revised plan, LOSSAN would directly operate the expanded Pacific Surfliner service, adding a sixth daily round trip to Goleta and a third daily round trip to San Luis Obispo. The service would operate during the same morning peak-hour window originally proposed under the Metrolink plan and would reach more destinations within Santa Barbara County.

The expanded Pacific Surfliner service could also be scaled up to accommodate increased travel demand during major events such as the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Funding support from SBCAG and VCTC would continue under the revised plan, though with lower overall costs, as LOSSAN would apply the funding directly toward operations rather than startup expenses.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, a morning peak-hour train operated between Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. The service was suspended in March 2020 and was never restored due to funding constraints and equipment shortages.

The Pacific Surfliner expansion now awaits state approval. New train equipment is expected to arrive by the end of 2025, with approvals targeted for early 2026. SBCAG is expected to review updated service and funding agreements in February, with a potential service launch in spring 2026 if all approvals are secured.

In early 2025, SBCAG and its partners announced plans for a Metrolink commuter service linking Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. The proposal, which aimed to provide a morning departure from Oxnard with afternoon return options along a Moorpark-to-Goleta route, was part of earlier efforts to restore peak-hour rail service to the South Coast before the Pacific Surfliner expansion was adopted.