West Santa Ana Branch


The West Santa Ana Branch is a rail right-of-way formerly used by the Pacific Electric's Santa Ana route in Los Angeles County and Orange County in Southern California. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority owns the segment of the right-of-way in Los Angeles County, and the Orange County Transportation Authority owns the segment in Orange County.
The line runs from the Watts Towers in the city of Los Angeles, southeast to the intersection of 4th Street and Santa Ana Boulevard in downtown Santa Ana. A portion of it is occupied by Interstate 105 and the Green Line. The right-of-way runs nearly straight for on a diagonal between the two cities, in contrast to the cardinal grid of Orange County.

History

The right-of-way was owned by the Pacific Electric Railway for streetcar service. The section in Orange County between Paramount and Stanton was acquired by the Southern California Regional Rail Authority in 1990 as part of the $450 million package deal with Southern Pacific.

Remnants

The Ghost Town & Calico Railroad attraction at Knott's Berry Farm uses a PE depot formerly located at Hansen station along the ROW in Stanton as the main station building. The building was moved to the theme park in 1952.

Future development

The Southern California Association of Governments, in conjunction with Metro and OCTA, conducted an alternatives analysis to determine the list of all feasible alternatives for the project. These alternatives may use all or part of the ROW. Modes under consideration were bus rapid transit, light rail, commuter rail and high-speed rail. SCAG organized a first round of public meetings in June 2010. A second round of public meetings were held in November and December 2010.

Los Angeles Metro project

Metro has prioritized the corridor on its Long Range Transportation Plan, and funding for it was guaranteed in the LA County Measure R and Measure M transportation funding ballot measures. As proposed, the light rail line will travel between Artesia and Union Station, using the ROW between Paramount and Artesia.

OC Streetcar

, the Orange County Transportation Authority is collaborating with the cities of Santa Ana and Garden Grove to build a streetcar line. The western terminus of the proposed route would follow the Pacific Electric right-of-way near the intersection of Harbor Boulevard and Westminster Avenue in Garden Grove.