If the new plan succeeds in expediting stalled state funding to buy the Union Pacific rail line from Davenport to Pajaro, the recreational use of the line could be operational in two years.
As the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission scrambles to secure $21 million in state funds to buy and improve the Union Pacific rail line between Pajaro and Davenport, a new concept is being offered as a way to expedite the funds: a dinner train. Although the plans currently submitted to the state mention only freight service and a walking and biking path along the rail, Deputy Director of the commission Luis Mendez suggests revising the county’s submission to include the recreational service. Sierra Northern Railroad has stepped up to say that it would pay for the $2 million dinner train, which would begin in two years. Although the commission was promised the money to buy and upgrade the $14.2 million rail line, the funds have stalled as the state economy worsened. As currently scheduled, the sale of the 32-mile stretch of track should wrap in April and the funds need to be used by June 30. Read more at the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
