Cost estimates of passenger rail service in Santa Cruz County will be outlined at a June 9 meeting. (Stephen Baxter — Santa Cruz Local file)

Transportation staff are expected to give an online presentation and answer questions from attendees.

At a separate transportation commission meeting June 12, staff are set to release the executive summary of a draft conceptual report for passenger rail, including details on designs, costs, and station locations. The report will also include details on the coastal rail trail between Aptos and Watsonville. In August, the regional transportation commission is set to hold a public hearing on the report.

Transportation commission staff presented options for train tracks and stations in Santa Cruz and in Watsonville in May. Some critics of passenger rail in Santa Cruz County have questioned whether there would be enough riders to justify the building costs and the tradeoff of a narrower path along the railroad tracks.

A 2019 study estimated that the rail line could cost $478 million to build. But more recently, the cost to replace and repair bridges alone was estimated to be about twice that sum. Refitting 33 bridges on the rail line could cost nearly $1 billion, commission staff reported in March. 

Commissioners asked transportation staff to look for ways to bring down those costs. Commission staff have said that federal funding could bear up to 80% of the cost of passenger rail construction, with the remainder to be paid for by state and local agencies.

Much of the local money for transportation projects comes from the county’s Measure D sales tax approved by voters in 2016. Existing plans for Highway 1 expansion and a trail along the rail corridor from Santa Cruz to Aptos could sap much of Measure D’s funds for 20 years, transportation staff said in April. 

Once commissioners approve the conceptual report in August, they could vote to start environmental review for rail service. However, commission staff have said they are short an estimated $12 million to $14 million needed to complete it.

In February 2024, Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission Executive Director Sarah Christensen said construction on a rail line could start as early as 2032. But a year later, she said the Trump administration’s efforts to slash and re-allocate federal funding could delay grants needed to pursue passenger rail for years.

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