Zero Emission Passenger Rail & Trail Project

Project Overview

The Zero Emission Passenger Rail and Trail (ZEPRT) Project proposes a new high-capacity passenger rail service and stations on approximately 22 miles of the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line (Branch Line) from the city of Santa Cruz in the north to Pajaro, just south of Watsonville. The project also proposes 12 miles of Coastal Rail Trail Segments 13-20 from Rio Del Mar Boulevard through the community of La Selva Beach and the City of Watsonville, as well as the Capitola Trestle portion (Segment 11, Phase 2).

The project aims to take advantage of the publicly owned rail right-of-way to provide passenger rail service to connect the most populated areas of Santa Cruz County to each other and to the greater region as well as provide integrated intercity travel options for riders on the Central Coast. Passengers will be able to bypass Highway 1 and local arterials that are highly congested, providing high-quality connections to key destinations within the county.

In addition to the 22 miles of rail transit service, the new trail would nearly complete the 32-mile Coastal Rail Trail providing a dedicated bicycle/pedestrian travel facility serving the proposed rail stations through development of 12 more miles of trail that are currently not constructed or under development. Read the project’s Preliminary Purpose and Need Statement here (or in Spanish here).

In October 2023, the RTC began work on the ZEPRT Project Concept Report that will define, evaluate and develop a project rail and trail build concept to be advanced into subsequent project tasks. A Draft Project Concept Report was released for public review and comment in July 2025.

Project Benefits

• Offers high-capacity zero emission passenger rail transit service and stations on approximately 22 miles of the Branch Line, reducing transit travel times and improving transit system reliability
• Connects the most populated areas of Santa Cruz County to the California State Rail network
• Improves transit connections to community activity centers supporting the local economy and providing better access between housing and jobs
• Provides 12 miles of new multi-use bicycle and pedestrian trail to enhance bicycle and pedestrian connectivity and safety
• Passes within 1 mile of more than 90 parks, 40 schools and approximately half of the county’s population
• Reduces vehicle miles traveled and associated greenhouse gas emissions

Project Schedule

Current Project Phase

Anticipated key milestones are occurring throughout the development of the ZEPRT Project Concept Report. The current phase of work includes development of a Project Description, and Preliminary Purpose and Need Statement, alternatives analysis and environmental screening of preliminary rail and trail conceptual alignments, refinement of conceptual alignments into one preferred build concept, and preparation of the draft and final Project Concept Report. Throughout these activities, meaningful, proactive, and focused public and stakeholder outreach continues to occur through several virtual and in-person meetings. The RTC released the Draft Project Concept Report in July 2025 and the Final Project Concept Report is anticipated to be released in fall of 2025.

Potential Project Next Steps

The RTC will complete the Final Project Concept Report to document key understandings and outcomes as well as the outreach conducted for the current phase. This information will be used to inform and advance future project activities.

The RTC will need to secure and prioritize additional funding in order to advance the ZEPRT project into preliminary engineering and environmental review, subject to the RTC Commission’s approval.

Resources

• Project Fact Sheet (English)
• Project Fact Sheet (Spanish)
• Draft Project Concept Report (July 2025)
  • Draft Project Concept Report Appendices (July 2025)
• Draft Project Concept Fact Sheet (English)
• Draft Project Concept Fact Sheet (Spanish)
• Financial Analysis - Zero Emission Passenger Rail and Trail Project

Engagement Opportunities

The RTC and its project partners are committed to meaningful public engagement throughout the project’s lifecycle. Community participation is vital to aid in minimizing impacts while meeting the needs of riders, bicyclists and pedestrians. There are many voices in our community, and we want to hear yours.

Summaries of engagement activities conducted, and community feedback received during each project milestone are provided below.

• Milestone 1 Engagement Summary (February – March 2024)
• Milestone 2 Engagement Summary (June – July 2024)
  • Milestone 2 Engagement Summary Appendix
• Milestone 3 Engagement Summary (October – December 2024)
  • Milestone 3 Engagement Summary Appendix A: Public Engagement Materials
  • Milestone 3 Engagement Summary Appendix B: Public Comments
• Coming Soon: Milestone 4 Engagement Summary (March – August 2025)

Upcoming Events

No public meetings are scheduled at this time. Please check back for details on upcoming engagement opportunities as the project progresses.

To stay informed about future engagement opportunities, sign up to be added to the project mailing list and receive regular updates.

Past Events

Since project inception, the RTC has hosted many virtual and in-person engagement events to engage with the local communities, share updates and gather community input.

The RTC is currently approaching the conclusion of the final project milestone for this phase of work. Throughout Milestone 4, the project team focused on providing the public with a first look at key components of the ZEPRT Draft Project Concept including conceptual rail and trail alignment, ridership projections, station locations and design, operations, and capital and operating cost estimates to obtain valuable community feedback that will support the development of the Final Project Concept Report.

Virtual Open Houses

• Milestone 2 Archived Virtual Open House (February – March 2024)
• Milestone 3 Archived Virtual Open House (June – July 2024)
• Milestone 4 Virtual Open House (March – August 2025)

Informational Community Sessions

• Session #1: Oct. 23, 2024, focused on project funding and service type. Watch video here.
• Session #2: Oct. 28, 2024, focused on the project’s ridership approach. Watch video here
• Session #3: Dec. 16, 2024, focused on grade crossings, noise impacts, and quiet zones. Watch video here.
• Session #4: March 12, 2025, focused on railroad bridge infrastructure for the Branch Line with details related to conceptual design and cost estimates for repair, rehabilitation or replacement bridges. Watch video here.
• Session #5: April 1, 2025, focused on the project’s conceptual alignment and operations supporting intercity passenger rail service, including preliminary travel times, station locations and rail vehicles. Watch video here.
• Session #6: June 9, 2025, focused on ZEPRT ridership projections and cost estimates for both capital and operating expenses. Watch video here.
• Session #7: July 22, 2025, focused on conceptual station design options. Watch video here.

In-Person Community Workshops

• February 2024: Presented project overview and gathered community feedback on the development of the Preliminary Purpose and Need statement. View board exhibits in Milestone 2 Engagement Summary.
• June 2024: Shared project updates and gathered community feedback on initial conceptual rail and trail alignment, and proposed rail vehicle types. View board exhibits in Milestone 2 Engagement Summary.
• November 2024: Shared project updates and gathered community feedback on rail and trail alignment options in development, project funding opportunities, ridership modeling approach, stations, bridge structures and noise impacts. Watch presentation video here: ZEPRT Community Workshop Presentation.
• May 2025: Shared updates in Watsonville on the proposed rail
  and trail alignments, and Watsonville station location options. Shared updates in Santa Cruz on Beach Street rail and trail alignment alternatives, traffic patterns in Beach Flats neighborhood, and grade crossings along the proposed West Side alignment.

Office Hours

• June – August 2025: Hosted a series of office hours, offering in-person (Watsonville and Santa Cruz) and virtual options on different days and times over the summer. The office hours provided an opportunity for community members to talk directly with ZEPRT team members one-on-one, ask questions and share input on the Draft Project Concept.

Stay Connected

  EMAIL

Email questions or comments to zeprt@sccrtc.org

  MAILING LIST

Subscribe below to be added to the project mailing list to receive regular updates and learn about future engagement opportunities.