What Three Independent Reviews of the ZEPRT Study Found Friends of the Rail & Trail reviewed the RTC's Zero Emission Passenger Rail and Trail study carefully. Then, to make sure we were reading it correctly, we reviewed the analysis of two independent expert teams as well. All three reviews reached the same conclusion: the ZEPRT cost estimates are not a reflection of what passenger rail in Santa Cruz County actually costs. They are a reflection of what the RTC leadership dire

by Friends of the Rail and Trail Here in Santa Cruz County, we are all living with a transportation system that doesn't work. People want to be able to go south in the evening. People want to be able to go north in the morning. As things are today, it's a very unpleasant situation. Everyone has felt the pain of getting stuck in our terrible rush-hour traffic. And widening the highway won't help. In fact, the Regional Transportation Commission's own studies predicted that in

Two civil engineers, both registered Professional Engineers (P.E.) with the State of California, review an Excel spreadsheet of capital costs created for SCCRTC

Rail and transit advocates gathered near the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line tracks in Live Oak on Wednesday to rally in support of passenger rail, and to urge the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission not to remove any of the existing tracks as planners work to develop designs for 8 miles of trail between the San Lorenzo River trestle bridge and State Park Drive in Aptos.

LIVE OAK — Dozens of local transit advocates gathered in Live Oak Wednesday to kick off what they called a “summer of action to save the tracks” along the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line.

Meet the Friends of the Rail and Trail and learn about the May 20th Rally!

Friends of the Rail & Trail supports improving our public transit infrastructure and we support the efforts of Friends of Metro to put a funding measure on the November ballot to support our local bus service.

Hybrid Rail-With-Trail design is feasible, affordable, and delivers the full trail length in the grants within the required timeline.

Santa Cruz County Rail & Trail Election Guide - Candidate Survey

Santa Cruz County has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to move forward with rail transit now, using tools that already exist and funding pathways that are already in motion.

Compare per-mile costs for SMART’s and SBCTA’s operating passenger rail services to the projected per-mile cost of ZEPRT.

Update from December 4th RTC Meeting. What decisions were made and what's next.

The Santa Cruz–Watsonville rail segment is part of the Central Coast Corridor, which was selected for Federal Corridor ID status in 2023. This program gives our Rail project state and federal sponsorship and access to non-competitive grant funding.

Sally Arnold describes Friends of Rail & Trail, recent opening of new trail serving the Westside, actions yet to come on Santa Cruz Voice's Community Matters podcast.

Community members, local leaders, and hundreds of Bay View Elementary students packed into La Barranca Park on Bay Street in Santa Cruz Wednesday morning for the official opening ceremony for the Segment 7, Phase II portion of the Coastal Rail Trail.

Stay updated with the latest Rail Trail construction updates. More than 14 additional miles of the rail trail are expected to be...

Much is being made of the recent estimate that bridge replacements along the community-owned Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line could cost $980,000 each, or close to $1 billion. In the context of our daily lives, $1 billion certainly does sound like a lot. But in terms of transportation projects, it’s not an unusual amount.

Both Options A & B propose that the Rail Trail be a separated path between the railroad tracks and Park Ave, similar to the path...

By Michael Guth | Published in the Santa Cruz Sentinel The Sierra Club is a steadfast advocate of active transportation that fosters...

Santa Cruz County is undergoing a wave of major transportation improvements aimed at creating a more connected, efficient, and resilient network. The Murray Street Bridge seismic retrofit is underway, the Highway One multimodal project continues, the Regional Transportation Commission is considering intercity passenger rail, and the METRO Transit District continues to develop long-term countywide transit solutions.