So far only engineers, not tourists, get to ride the rails in Santa Cruz. Photo by Curtis Cartier.
Santa Cruz County’s Regional Transportation Commission admits that it is in a tough position. It failed to meet its target to sign a contract with Sierra Northern Railway by yesterday’s 5pm deadline. Sierra Northern Railway had been selected as the operator of the tourist train that would run along the line, making it eligible for state funding. According to the commission’s deputy director, Luis Mendez, a contract with a train service provider must be presented to the state by Nov. 3 in order to qualify for $10.2 million in state funding for the project.
The commission is now faced with two possibilities. Either it can continue negotiations with Sierra Northern Railway in an effort to meet the deadline or find an alternative railway to provide service. Neither, they admit, is very practical. The commission’s board is reluctant to make any more concessions to the railway, and while other railways have shown willingness to take on the project, negotiations to finalize the deal would inevitably take longer than the three weeks left until the state deadline.
“As every week or two weeks passes I become more dubious about the overall success of this acquisition project,” says Randy Johnson, who chairs the commission. Johnson is on record as being opposed to any further concessions. Sierra Northern Railway, however, says that it is not asking for concessions. CEO Mike Hart says that the problem is that the contract contains factual inaccuracies, such as how the rail line is measured. There is no dispute over the general terms of the agreement, he claims.
But that may not be accurate. One of the sticking points is the Roaring Camp Railroad of Felton, which has offered to pay for use of a section of the rail line for its own tourist venture. The commission and Sierra have yet to resolve who would get paid for the use of the line, with Sierra claiming that it should help cover the cost of the upkeep and maintenance, which is Sierra’s contractual responsibility.
With these and other issues yet to be resolved and the clock ticking away, the tourist train in Santa Cruz may end up being a pipe dream. Read more at Santa Cruz Sentinel.
