Upgrading class 1 or exempted track to class 2 or 3 is a whole lot cheaper than building new track. Basicly it mostly comes down to tie replacement, leveling and tamping.

The key questions are where they would build their maintenance facility and where would they run (from and to). They can't go into Monterey so tapping the tourists there would be difficult. So where would their station be? By Sand City or at Fort Ord?

Overall these things can be worked out but the driving distance from San Francisco and the Penninsula where most of the members live would probably make this a non starter.