The West Santa Ana Branch is a former streetcar right-of-way (ROW) and potential transit corridor connecting Los Angeles County and Orange County in Southern California. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) owns the part of the ROW in Los Angeles County, and the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) owns the part of the ROW in Orange County.
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The streetcar right-of-way was operated by the Pacific Electric Railway. The ROW 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 two-mile portion of it is occupied by the I-105 and the Green Line. The ROW runs dead-straight for nearly 20-miles on a diagonal between these two cities, in stark contrast to the cardinal grid of Orange County. As such, the route is clearly visible from aerial photographs from high altitude.
Future development
Metro has prioritized the corridor on its Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), and funding for it is guaranteed in Measure R. The project is being coordinated by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) in conjunction with Metro and OCTA.
SCAG is conducting 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 are 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.
OC Streetcar
As of 2016, the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) 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.