Friends Of The Rail & Trail

The Timber Heritage Association still runs rail cars on it.
Some say removing the tracks is the only way to build the trail. Humboldt County proved otherwise.

There are options. Santa Cruz deserves to see them.

#RailAndTrail

2020: A rail bridge with no trail access.

2025: A completed rail-with-trail, open to the public, with tracks still in place.

Humboldt County didn't remove the rails. They used flangeway fillers to build the trail around them.

The FRA (Federal Railroad Administration) has sponsored the project to bring Rail Service back to the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line! We've been accepted into the Federal Corridor ID program that will help pay 80-90% of our engineering costs!

www.railandtrail.org/bignews/rail...

How do rail and trail share space? Like this.

These examples from Humboldt Bay show what's possible: flangeway fillers, shared bridges, narrowed corridors, and low-speed rail running alongside the trail.

It works. It's already happening.

#RailAndTrail

This isn't an accident. Rail lines were built where people live, work, and gather. That's still true today.

The Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line is 150 years old. It runs through the center of every major commercial area in the county.

Capitola Village. Downtown Watsonville. The Boardwalk. Aptos Village. Natural Bridges.

Administration—making us eligible for billions in rail grants

Don't let misinformation drown out what our community has clearly said it wants.

#RailAndTrail

Here are the facts:

74% of voters want Rail & Trail

Great designs exist that allow us to have both

Our Rail project is sponsored by the State of California and the Federal Rail

Among voters, there is no controversy. Yet some in the media report as if two people with video cameras and strong opinions carry equal weight to 74% of voters and our community's transportation needs.

Greenway's strategy is simple: repeat claims that are completely false, but that they wish were true, and count on those claims being treated as a legitimate "competing perspective."

Just like we see on the national stage, there's a difference between fabricated information and actual facts.

Once the rail is gone, it's gone forever.

Losing the rail line means fewer options, longer commutes, higher costs, and fewer chances to stay in Santa Cruz County.

Transportation isn't abstract. It's whether people can live where they work.

That's why we're organizing to build both Rail & Trail.

Santa Cruz County wants to hear what matters to you.

Town halls are happening across all five districts this month. If you support transit, rail, and trail, this is your chance to say so.

Come on out and let's make some noise!

#RailAndTrail

$6.3 trillion on highways over the next 20 years. That's what U.S. governments are projected to spend. More than it would cost to build world-class public transit nationwide.

We already have the infrastructure.

The question is whether we use it.

www.governing.com/transportati...

This is Lenox Street. Tracks down the middle, cars parked alongside, people biking through.

It's called a streetcar track. Having rail, cars, cyclists, and pedestrians all share the same space is more common than you'd think. And it works.

#RailAndTrail

Don't let misinformation drown out what our community has clearly said it wants.

#KnowTheFacts

Here are the facts:
✅ 74% of voters want Rail & Trail
✅ Great designs exist that allow us to have both
✅ Our Rail project is sponsored by the State of California and the Federal Rail Administration—making us eligible for billions in rail grants

Just like we see on the national stage, there's a difference between fabricated information and actual facts.

Among voters, there is no controversy. Yet some in the media report as if two people with video cameras and strong opinions carry equal weight to 74% of voters.

Know the Facts About Rail & Trail

Greenway's strategy is simple: repeat claims that are completely false, but that they wish were true, and count on those claims being treated as a legitimate "competing perspective."

This is what FORT is all about. Talking with neighbors about how rail and trail can work for a community like ours. You learn what people need by showing up.

#RailAndTrail

Another trip on the trail. Where are you headed?

#RailAndTrail

Unfortunately, all indications point to the RTC moving forward with Greenway's greatest desire: removing the tracks.

To learn more about the streetcar rail-with-trail design and how we can adopt it, check out this blog post.

www.railandtrail.org/bignews/trai...

Trail Updates: Streetcar Style Rail-With-Trail Will Work in Mid-County Streetcar Rail-With-Trail design is feasible, affordable, and delivers the full trail length in the grants within the required timeline.

Should Santa Cruz have to settle for bad design and no rail?

A streetcar rail-with-trail design is feasible, affordable, and delivers the full trail length expected by the grants within the required timeline.

I emailed to defend the passenger rail project in Santa Cruz County. Don’t let anti-transit interests kill the zero-emissions passenger rail project in Santa Cruz County. Please help make sure the decision makers know that Santa Cruz County wants a cleaner transporta...

Are you concerned about the RTC tearing out the Santa Cruz Branch Line? Make sure to contact them now! And if you want to stay updated, please be sure to check that box so you can keep up with what's going on with the Rail & Trail projects.
secure.everyaction.com/qwCstKMcyUul...

The idea seems to be that if they become the freight operator they will be able to do whatever they want on that part of the line, up to and including tearing out the tracks.

YIKES!

→ Find a new freight operator for the Watsonville freight customers
→ Become the freight operator (common carrier) for the out-of-service parts of the line north of Watsonville

Woah! The RTC has gone off the rails!

Thursday night, the RTC made a late-night announcement that they decided in closed session to:
→ End the contract with Progressive Rail
→ Divide the rail line into two parts

A place to walk that feels safe. Space to share with others. A route you can count on, day or night.

That's what the trail means for the people who use it most.

#RailAndTrail

Investing in our rail line is an investment in access, climate responsibility, and a more connected future for Santa Cruz County.

A modern rail line expands safe and affordable transportation options, reduces congestion and emissions, and strengthens regional resilience. It helps ensure that mobility is not a privilege, but a public good that serves people of all ages and abilities.

Our rail line is more than infrastructure. It is a shared public asset that connects Santa Cruz County’s communities to jobs, schools, housing, and public space.