The new train depot in Goleta is full steam ahead and is expected to officially open this summer. 

The depot project began construction in 2024 to build a new multimodal train station at 27 S. La Patera Lane, next to the existing train platform with a goal of increasing ridership. 

The project also seeks to improve bus connections and add bicycle and pedestrian facilities.

In 2025, there were more than 89,000 train riders from the Goleta station, according to Alyssa Dowdalls, marketing and communications manager with the Los Angeles – San Diego – San Luis Obispo rail corridor agency.

The $32 million project, which is Goleta’s first to have been built from the ground up, will have a lobby, electronic ticketing area, waiting room, café, community room, restrooms and storage areas.

The project is funded through a $18.6 million Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program grant given to the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG).

As the station heads toward completion, city staff say there are still critical things that have to get done. 

“There’s a lot of balls up in the air,” said Jaime Valdez, Goleta assistant city manager. 

The active construction site is still waiting on Southern California Edison to install a transformer, a “big milestone” for the project. However, that work is on the energy company’s schedule, Valdez said. 

Work is continuing on painting, installing sewer lines, HVAC systems and electrical work, expected to be completed by the end of March or early April.

When construction began, there were discussions of plans to construct sidings that would allow trains to pass each and add more rail service to Goleta and San Luis Obispo.

Construction of the sidings through the Ortega Siding Project is in the preliminary design phase. The project, located in the Summerland area, is expected to begin construction in 2028 and officially open in 2030, according to Dowdalls.

“This siding will allow for additional roundtrips between Los Angeles and Goleta,” she said. 

While city staff don’t have an exact opening date for the station, Valdez said it could be as soon as “early summer” if everything goes according to plan.

“If it opens sooner than summer, then we will be happy,” he said. “If it is beyond September or October, then we will not be happy.”

The opening will also coincide with the peak travel months of the station, according to Dowdalls.

Additionally, an expansion of the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner service will launch in May and bring six daily trips to Goleta.

“The expansion of services and opening of the new train station are very complementary to each other, and so we will get it going and then people will get even more excited when that train depot opens,” said Lauren Bianchi Klemann, SBCAG director of government affairs and public information.

Completing the station was recently identified as a priority for Goleta’s General Services Department at an early March Goleta City Council meeting. Part of the priority includes city staff finding a vendor to lease the café space. 

But Valdez said he is not anticipating finding a café operator to lease the space before opening day. 

“They normally will want to see a fair amount of data in terms of travelers, visitors, and do an analysis of the area and how many people they think would go to eat there,” he said.

In the meantime, the department has been contacting local coffee vendors and shops to let them know about the request for proposals the city will be releasing. 

“Obviously it is a lot easier if there’s an existing building or business in town to do it because they already have the infrastructure but if somebody out of Oxnard or Los Angeles wanted to do it, they can put their hat into the ring too,” he said.

Valdez said he’s heard from nearby businesses that they are excited for the café component of the new station.

Some of the closest food options to the station are about a mile away, or further into Old Town Goleta. 

The next stop before the grand opening will be at a city Design Review Board meeting in April to get feedback for the station’s signage, Valdez said.