A Zero Emission Passenger Rail and Trail conceptual report has been in development for more than a year. It is expected to finish in August. 

Released Friday, an executive summary of the report said:

• Rail service is projected to cost $4.3 billion to build and would cost $31 million to $41 million to operate annually.
• An estimated 3,500 to 6,000 trips on the train each weekday by the year 2045.
• The ride between Santa Cruz and Pajaro would take an estimated 40-45 minutes.
• The “Stadler FLIRT train set” used by the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority to Redlands “has been selected for preliminary study purposes,” according to the summary. It has room for about 116 seated and 118 standing passengers, it  is relatively quiet and can be operated by battery, hydrogen, diesel or hybrid, the report stated.
• Twenty eight of 33 bridges on the track are recommended for replacement. Costs for bridge repair and replacement could reach nearly $1 billion, transportation staff said in May. Friday’s summary did not detail potential costs for bridge repair and replacement.

Nine stations are proposed, including alternatives for the end of the line on Natural Bridges Drive or Depot Park in Santa Cruz. (HDR Engineering Inc.)

The executive summary includes nine proposed stations:

• Natural Bridges Drive.
• Downtown Santa Cruz at Depot Park.
• Seabright.
• 17th Avenue in Live Oak.
• Capitola.
• Cabrillo College.
• Aptos.
• Downtown Watsonville.
• Pajaro.

Two meetings in June will update residents on potential costs and other details of the passenger rail project in Santa Cruz County.

• 3:30-5 p.m. Monday, June 9. Staff of the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission will share ridership estimates and potential costs to build and operate passenger rail service from Watsonville to Santa Cruz. Join on Zoom or watch the webinar in the Oak Conference Room at 1101 Pacific Ave., Suite 250 in Santa Cruz.

• 6 p.m. Thursday, June 12. At a Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission meeting, staff are set to present an executive summary of a draft conceptual report for passenger rail, including details on designs, costs, and station locations. The full 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 full report. If commissioners approve the conceptual report in August, they could vote to start environmental review for rail service.

Riley Gerbrandt, project manager of the Zero Emission Passenger Rail and Trail, discusses a map of a proposed passenger rail line at a May 14 meeting at London Nelson Community Center in Santa Cruz. (Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission)

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