SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — The Santa Cruz City Council has voted unanimously to express opposition to a proposal that would lead to abandonment of the line connecting the city to the Santa Cruz, Big Trees & Pacific tourist railroad.
Lookout Santa Cruz reports the vote has no legal bearing on the proposal floated by the Santa Cruz Regional Transportation Commission, but that a council member said the body should clearly state its opinion. The council also will send a letter to the nearby Watsonville City Council asking it to take a similar stance.
The transportation commission has discussed the possibility of seeking an adverse abandonment of the 8-mile Felton Branch, which is owned by the tourist railroad’s parent company, Roaring Camp Railroads. That would allow the commission to pursue development of a trail along the route, while railbanking the rail line instead of facing up to $65 million in infrastructure improvements on the route. But it would also end the possibility of freight service on the line as well as remove the federal protections offered by common-carrier status regulated by the Surface Transportation Board.
The transportation commission discussed the potential abandonment at a meeting last week but did not act on the proposal, instead instructing its executive director to engage in further talks with Roaring Camp [see “Meeting takes no action …,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 4, 2022].
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