Santa Cruz, Big Trees and Pacific Railway

• ARR Reporting Marks - SCBG.
• Official Website

Santa Cruz, Big Trees and Pacific Railway Overview

A subsidiary of Progressive Rail, Saint Paul & Pacific was formed in 2018 to take over operations of Iowa Pacific's Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay Railroad that had operated since 2012. Currently the railroad only operates within Watsonville, as the tracks north of Watsonville to Santa Cruz and Davenport are out of service. There are plans to extend freight services and possible passenger services to Santa Cruz and Davenport in the near future. Since being taken over by Progressive Rail, traffic has increased over 108% and the railroad plans o further increase carloads (decreased due to the poor operational and customer service practices of Iowa Pacific).

The line was previously operated by Sierra Northern from 2009 to 2011, and before that Union Pacific. After the closure of the main and largest customer customer on the line, Cemex in Davenport closed in 2010, the future of the scenic branch line is in unclear. Local activists would like to turn most of the railroad into a trail, while the local governments would prefer to potentially railbank the line for future light rail or regular passenger service.

SCBG interchanges with Saint Paul & Pacific at Santa Cruz, CA (this interchange is inactive).

Santa Cruz, Big Trees and Pacific Railway Customers

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