People who hate to drive may have more options as the county looks to expand train trips in the area.

The Santa Barbara County Association of Governments voted to move forward on a proposal Thursday that will expand train access between Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo counties by adding more round-trip trains through the region.

The Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo Rail Corridor Agency (LOSSAN) has proposed a plan to restore two trips that were discontinued during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’m here to tell you that we have some good news,” said Aaron Bonfilio, director of the Multimodal Program. “Over the past two years, we’ve been working very closely, both with LOSSAN and our partners in Ventura County, but also with the Regional Rail Authority in Southern California, Metrolink, to come up with a solution to help expedite additional train service over the years.”

The new proposal will bring back two trips. One is a northbound train to SLO County and a southbound train back to San Diego County.

The northbound train will start in Los Angeles at Union Station and travel to San Luis Obispo every morning. The train will travel through the South Coast, making stops in Carpinteria, Santa Barbara, Goleta, and ending in SLO.

The train will then travel south from SLO County, past Los Angeles, to San Diego. The southbound route is an afternoon trip.

SBCAG staff is also presenting the proposal to the Ventura County Transportation Commission and needs approval from the state of California. The new trips could begin as soon as April 2026, if all the necessary approvals are granted within the next few months.

SBCAG voted unanimously to accept the proposal and direct staff to return with an operating agreement in February.