Does it take you forever to get from Santa Cruz to Monterey? Stuck in a jam again on Route 1? Sounds like a job for ... the Monterey - Santa Cruz Rail Line!
And before I go further, yes of course, this is a work of fantasy, not based on any traffic studies or passenger estimates, and as far as I know, nobody is actually planning a Monterey to Santa Cruz rail line. But one can dream!
This rail line goes between Santa Cruz and Monterey, running roughly along existing rail lines and Highway 1. But these will be upgraded tracks, and the trains will go as fast as 125 mph (similar to Brightline in Florida or Amtrak's northeast corridor routes). The time it would take for the train to get from Santa Cruz to Monterey is just under a half-hour.
Route Description
We start at the southern end. There are in fact two extensions going southwest from Monterey, one going to Pacific Grove and one going to Carmel. The Pacific Grove extension starts close to the intersection of Lighthouse Ave. and Congress Ave. and proceeds towards Monterey. The Carmel extension begins near Junipero St. and Ocean Ave. and heads northwards towards Monterey.
In Monterey, the station is near Lighthouse Ave. and San Carlos Beach, a quick walk to Cannery Row and the Aquarium, as well as Old Monterey. From there, the line curves away from the water a bit to swiftly bring passengers to and from the front door of the Monterey Regional Airport.
Heading east of the airport, the line then heads northwards roughly paralleling General Jim Moore Blvd. by Seaside and stopping near the main quad of CSU Monterey Bay. Then the line passes through Marina, following Del Monte Blvd. and curves east a bit to head to the Castroville Station, near where CA-156 crosses Merritt St. (CA-183).
From there, the line heads north roughly following the existing rail line, but a bit straighter, and into downtown Watsonville, near the public library and city building. And then it heads toward the coast roughly following CA-1 by La Selva Beach, then through Aptos, and then on to Capitola, stopping near where Cliff Dr. crosses Soquel Creek.
The train then proceeds west to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. And then it heads north along a new rail line running along Cedar St., and stopping by Downtown Santa Cruz between Walnut Ave. and Lincoln St. Finally, the line heads up to UC Santa Cruz, stopping by the Oakes/Rachel Carson stop of the campus shuttle, its northern terminus.
Future Plans
And eventually, this line may be extended north to San Jose Diridon Station, connecting with Amtrak and Caltrain. Imagine going from Santa Cruz to San Jose at 125 mph - a quick 20-minute ride!
Back To Reality
But back to the real world - although I don't know of any plan at this time to have rail from Santa Cruz to Monterey, there is planning underway to introduce passenger rail to the northern part of this route in the future. See Santa Cruz Local - Passenger Rail Construction and the SCCRTC.. This line would run from Santa Cruz to Watsonville / Pajaro Junction, and if it uses the existing train tracks would probably not be all that fast. And as of 2024, even this is still very early in the planning stages, and construction wouldn't begin until 2032. But at least it would be a start...
