[www.santacruzsentinel.com]

They've been talking about it for years, but now Santa Cruz County only has until June to use state funds to purchase the ex-SP Santa Cruz Branch from Union Pacific. What will that mean for the future of the line? Nobody actually knows, including the county. A choice quote:

"Mendez and the transportation agency have not outlined their plans for the railroad's future, beyond continuing freight service, because plotting new uses for the line could obligate them to a lengthy and costly environmental review.

The agency's official position remains that it's buying the line now simply to preserve it for later. Whatever is eventually done, Mendez says, will be studied in the future, and any plan will surely benefit the community and come at reasonable cost."

The article mentions the county thinks they may end up trying to contract ops and MOW work to UP, which probably means they're having trouble finding an operator crazy enough to drink the kool aid.