Santa Cruz spur

Some developments, with an eye towards a partial potential conversion to shared usage rail trail:

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_19635111

"Union Pacific trains to run through county once more"

Brief, fair-use quote:

Last week, current operator Sierra Northern Railway Co. notified federal regulators that it no longer wants to handle freight service on the line. Resulting from a side dispute with Union Pacific, that development seemed to throw at least part of a local $14.2 million deal to purchase the line into doubt.

...

Union Pacific owns the lightly used line, running through prime coastal regions from Davenport to Watsonville. For years, the county's Regional Transportation Commission has pursued a purchase, and plans to use parts of the line as the backbone of a bike and pedestrian trail running the length of the county.

On Dec. 15, the deal appeared done when the federal Surface Transportation Board approved a sale that included Sierra Northern's continued operation of freight service on the line, something sought by both state and federal officials.

...

As a condition of approving the sale, the state agency required the continuation of freight rail and the establishment of passenger service, both of which were to be taken care of by Sierra Northern. But Associate Deputy Director Juan Guzman said those conditions may be met by any carrier.