The RTC is obligated to provide freight service to those desiring it on the Santa Cruz Branch line. This is federally mandated as a condition of being part of the national rail network. Providing passenger services is a different obligation than freight services, and this obligation is to the state of California for granting our county Proposition 116 funds to purchase the rail line in 2012. These conditions are independent of the results of the UCS, as they have to be met unless they are formally changed through due process. The UCS does not have the power to change those obligations by itself as it is only a study, not a legal action.
— Bruce Sawhill, Santa Cruz
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