Project Description

The proposed Pajaro-Watsonville station is located in the Monterey County unincorporated community of Pajaro. The station site is approximately 1.5 miles from downtown Watsonville, which is in the County of Santa Cruz. This station will be the connection point for Santa Cruz County to new passenger rail service on the Coast mainline tracks between Salinas and the San Francisco Bay Area. The station will transform a currently underserved area by providing a new community transportation hub that will entice transit-oriented housing and community services to the surrounding area.  

  • Estimated Environmental Documentation Cost: $2.274 million 

  • Estimated Final Design/Right-of-Way Cost: $17 million 

  • Estimated Construction Cost, Initial Service: $86 million 

  • Estimated Construction Cost, Vision Service: $30 million 

  • Previous work: Environmental Impact Report (2006) & Addendum (2013); 60% design (2010); Network Integration Study (2021) 

  • Next steps: update state environmental review for "vision" footprint, federal environmental review

Map

The project area near the boundary between Pajaro and Watsonville and the proposed multimodal station.

Visual Simulation

A rendering of the proposed multimodal station

More Information

Read the 2023 Pajaro Watsonville Multimodal Transit Hub Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program Application for more information on project impacts and interregional multimodal connections to the station.   

TAMC adopted a Monterey Bay Area Rail Network Integration Study. This work is funded by a Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) grant. The purpose of this study is to lay the groundwork for implementing the 2018 California State Rail Plan in the Monterey Bay Area by determining the optimal options for: rail connectivity and operations, equipment needs, governance, and community benefits for service between Monterey County and Santa Clara County, Monterey and Santa Cruz, and the Coast Rail Corridor. Read the Final Network Integration Study for more information.