Rail studies along Santa Cruz County, Central Coast get federal funding boost
- Friends of the Rail and Trail
- May 6, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
By PK Hattis Santa Cruz Sentinel
SANTA CRUZ — Federal funds geared toward exploration and development of passenger rail service in Santa Cruz County and the Central Coast region more broadly have officially pulled into the station.
U.S. Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) and Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) announced in a joint statement that the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration will provide $1 million to the California Department of Transportation, or Caltrans, for a pair of scoping studies aimed at expanding railway service in the region.
“Public transportation is a vital resource that connects our communities and local economies. Thanks in part to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which Democrats passed in the last Congress, more people in California will have access to reliable rail service to and from different areas. We’re proud to announce this important federal funding that will help create good-paying jobs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and increase regional travel,” said Lofgren and Panetta in a release. “We are particularly pleased that federal and state governments recognize the importance of the growing Salinas Valley area and its transit needs. We will continue to advocate for more projects like this one that benefit Salinas, Watsonville, Hollister, and/or other cities that can often be overlooked by their larger neighbors.”
The grant comes from the federal agency’s Corridor Identification and Development (Corridor ID) Program, which supports development and planning of passenger rail services.
According to the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission, in a clarification shared with the Sentinel through Lofgren’s spokesperson, Caltrans will use the money to create development of service plans for two rail corridors in the area, which will then later facilitate prioritization of funding for projects within the corridors.
The studies, which will each receive $500,000, will be done in collaboration with the Santa Cruz transportation commission, Coast Rail Coordinating Council, Transportation Agency for Monterey County, Amtrak and other stakeholders.
The first examines a proposed Central Coast Corridor, according to the Santa Cruz commission, which would introduce new service along a route currently only served by Amtrak’s long-distance Coast Starlight running from San Jose to San Luis Obispo. As part of the envisioned project, segments from San Jose to Salinas and Santa Cruz to Watsonville will be evaluated.
Findings from the Santa Cruz transportation commission’s Zero Emissions Passenger Rail and Trail Project Concept Report, which is expected to be finished early next year, along with its Transit Corridor Alternatives Analysis/Rail Network Integration Study from 2021 will be incorporated into the assessment for this potential expansion effort.
Wednesday's ceremony. (Shmuel Thaler - Santa Cruz Sentinel) Wednesday's ceremony. (Shmuel
The second study looks at a proposed Capitol Corridor, according to the local transportation agency, and seeks to further enhance the already existing corridor of the same name running from San Jose to Auburn. Proposed extensions would include San Francisco, Salinas, Novato and Reno.
A new train station in Pajaro/Watsonville will be included in the service development plans for both Caltrans projects, according to the transportation commission.
In late 2022, the county’s Regional Transportation Commission decided to pursue a project concept report analyzing a potential 22-mile zero emission passenger rail project from Santa Cruz to Watsonville on the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line. The two-year, $9.2 million report will provide an early-phase, detailed analysis of environmental, engineering and design work needed to make a passenger train possible.
Read the original article at:
Rail studies along Santa Cruz County, Central Coast get federal funding boost – Santa Cruz Sentinel
er – Santa Cruz Sentinel) at Wednesday’s ceremony. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel
“It’s about connection,” said Kalantari-Johnson. “It’s about all of us connecting
s Phase I, which already sees about 800 people using i
the second phase of the Segment 7 rail trail,
at the path is more than just “pavement and pain
Comments