The Zero Emission Passenger Rail and Trail Project proposes a new high-capacity passenger rail service and stations on approximately 22 miles of the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line from the city of Santa Cruz in the north to Pajaro, just south of Watsonville.
The project aims to take advantage of the publicly owned rail right-of-way to provide passenger rail service to connect the most populated areas of Santa Cruz County to each other and to the greater region as well as to provide integrated intercity travel options for riders on the Central Coast. Passengers will be able to bypass Highway 1 and local arterials that are highly congested, providing high-quality connections to key destinations within the county.
In addition to the 22 miles of rail transit service, the new trail would nearly complete the 32-mile Coastal Rail Trail providing a dedicated bicycle/pedestrian travel facility that serves the proposed rail stations by developing 12 more miles of the trail that are not constructed or currently under development.
In October 2023, as the first task of the project, the RTC began work on the Project Concept Report. This report will define, evaluate, and develop a project rail and trail build concept that will be advanced into subsequent project tasks.
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RTC Hosts Zero Emission Rail Input Sessions
The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission is hosting two informational community sessions via Zoom and in person for the Zero Emission Passenger Rail and Trail Project’s concept development.
Community members and interested stakeholders are invited to participate to hear project updates and ask questions.
Session 1: Wednesday, Oct. 23
The first session will focus on project funding and service type.
The meeting will include a presentation by Caltrans on the Federal Railroad Administration’s Corridor Identification and Development Program, which helps facilitate the development of new or improved intercity passenger rail service in the U.S.
Session 2: Monday, Oct. 28
The second session will focus on the project’s ridership approach.
The meeting will feature a presentation by the project’s consultant team explaining the ridership modeling and analysis that will inform key project elements in the coming months.
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Details
- Dates: Wednesday, Oct. 23 and Monday, Oct. 28
- Time: 6 – 7 p.m.
- Location: Join both sessions virtually via Zoom at https://hdrinc.zoom.us/j/92509060294
- Webinar ID: 925 0906 0294
- Passcode: 388931
- Dial-in: 408-638-0968
Or In-Person at the RTC Office
Oak Conference Room
1101 Pacific Ave., Ste 250A
Santa Cruz, CA
Both sessions will be recorded and posted to the Santa Cruz County RTC project website.
In addition, an online open house and in-person community workshops for the ZEPRT project’s Milestone 3 are anticipated to be held in November and will be announced soon by email and on the ZEPRT project website at sccrtc.org/zeprt.
