VCTC outlines Santa Paula Branch Line trail update, eyes Sycamore and Old Telegraph alternatives

Amanda Fagan, director of planning and sustainability at the Ventura County Transportation Commission, told the Fillmore Planning Commission that VCTC has restarted work to update the Santa Paula Branch Line trail master plan and prepare a programmatic environmental impact report covering the corridor from Montalvo to Piru.

The presentation traced the corridor’s history and ownership, noted that VCTC purchased the branch line in the 1990s to preserve a multimodal corridor, and said the update will revisit the 2000 master plan while preparing a programmatic EIR. Fagan said the commission contracted WSP in March 2025 to update the master plan and that technical studies will begin in January with EIR drafting targeted to begin in February and finish roughly a year later.

Fagan said the project is being planned as a rails‑with‑trails approach in many places — a multiuse path alongside active rail — but the update will evaluate alternatives, including deviations from the railroad corridor to local streets (notably Sycamore Road and Old Telegraph Road) where right‑of‑way constraints…