CA: Santa Cruz County RTC unveils finalized passenger rail study

After two years of work, the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission has publicly released its highly anticipated final Zero Emission Passenger Rail and Trail Project Concept Report.

“This report represents an important step forward in understanding what zero-emission passenger rail could mean for Santa Cruz County. It provides our community and decision-makers with the facts needed to thoughtfully consider how this system might enhance mobility, sustainability, and access for all,” the commission’s Executive Director Sarah Christensen said in a release shared Friday. “Our goal has always been to plan responsibly and transparently, and this study gives us the foundation to do exactly that.”

The 284-page study is the most detailed look to date at what it would take to bring a 22-mile passenger rail service system to the commission-owned Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line — a proposal that has stirred intense debate among elected officials and the community for years.

Including within the report’s findings is a $4.2 billion price tag to design, construct and implement service from Santa Cruz to Pajaro, which is the same figure that was shared when a draft of the study was released in August.

The system was envisioned to include nine possible station locations in Pajaro, downtown Watsonville, Aptos, Cabrillo, Capitola, 17th Avenue, Seabright, Beach Street/downtown Santa Cruz and Natural Bridges Drive. The Pajaro station would double as a connection point to the California State Rail Network, as envisioned in the 2024 California State Rail Plan. This would give passengers access to the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, Gilroy and other population centers across the state, according to the study.

The train would operate daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. with 30-minute headways and an end-to-end travel time that ranges from 45-70 minutes. The average estimated annual operating expense ranged from $34 million to $41 million, as indicated by the study.

While the specific vehicle model won’t be confirmed until later stages, the most compatible variety was identified as the Stadler FLIRT — a trainset with two passenger cars permanently coupled to a power car. The trainset has capacity for 116 seated passengers, 12 folding seats and 120 standing passengers. It has multiple propulsion options including battery, hydrogen, diesel and hybrid, with the hydrogen and battery options offering a quieter mechanism. The trainset also works with commuter rail and freight railroad operations, according to the study.

The study also estimated, based on 2045 projections, a ridership of 4,200 to 5,400 riders per weekday and an annual farebox revenue of about $5.1 million to $6.4 million.

Included within the passenger rail project’s scope is also the establishment of 12 miles of the Coastal Rail Trail project encompassed within segments 13 to 20, as well as the Capitola Trestle portion included within Segment 11, Phase 2.

“The RTC appreciates the community’s patience as our staff has invested significant time in producing a high-quality and thorough final report,” Christensen continued. “In the interest of public transparency, the RTC assures the community that this report dated October 24, 2025, has not been previously shared or distributed outside of the RTC.”

In addition to this initial unveiling, the report will be unpacked publicly at the commission’s December meeting, the release noted.

The study also detailed several different options for next steps that can be taken by the commission after its December meeting. These include advancing preliminary engineering and environmental review phases, perpetuation of broad stakeholder engagement and coordination to build consensus and continue momentum, confirm end-to-end travel time and necessary supportive infrastructure, and development of an optimized travel demand forecast.

Other steps involve further analysis and stakeholder engagement for the Beach Flats area in Santa Cruz and the Walker Street and downtown areas in Watsonville, starting activities that prepare for national and state environmental study processes, resiliency planning, and identification of potential federal, state and local funding sources for phased advancement of the project.

What: Santa Cruz County RTC’s Zero Emission Passenger Rail and Trail Project Concept Report.

Where: Online at sccrtc.org/projects/rail/zeprt.

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