Regional Rail & Transit Connections

For information about the RTC’s rail projects, visit the RTC’s rail page.

Local Trains

Although Santa Cruz currently has no passenger rail service, you can get a taste of historical rail transportation by taking a scenic train trip through the redwoods to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk on the Roaring Camp & Big Trees Railroad located in Felton.

Santa Cruz County residents can easily access the regional rail network by taking the Highway 17 Express bus from downtown Santa Cruz to Diridon Station in San Jose, which takes one hour, and costs $5 dollars. schedule

From Diridon Station, you can connect to Caltrain, which runs from San Francisco to Gilroy. schedule

You can also connect to Amtrak trains at Diridon Station, including the Capitol Corridor which goes to Sacramento, and the Coast Starlight, which travels from San Diego to Seattle.

You can also use Caltrain to connect to BART to access San Francisco and the East Bay. Board a Northbound Caltrain at Diridon Station, and get off at Millbrae Station. At Millbrae you can easily transfer onto BART.

Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line

In June 2010, the RTC received approval to purchase the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line Right-of-Way from Union Pacific Railroad. The purchase will preserve the corridor for rail and other transportation purposes. See RTC’s rail page for more information.

Contact

Commute Solutions
(831) 429-POOL