1 RFP for rail service 12/08/2017 Request for Proposals for An Operator of Freight and Recreational Passenger Rail Service on the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line December 8, 2017 I. Introduction The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (SCCRTC) is the designated Regional Transportation Planning Agency (RTPA) for Santa Cruz County. The agency consists of twelve members, representing the County of Santa Cruz, the Cities of Capitola, Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley and Watsonville, and the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District. Caltrans serves as an ex-officio member. SCCRTC has the authority to develop and oversee projects on public rail line rights-of-way in Santa Cruz County. SCCRTC purchased the the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line (Branch Line) from Union Pacific Railroad Company (UPRR) in 2012. The Branch Line includes approximately 31 route miles of right-of-way and standard gauge railroad line between Watsonville Junction and Davenport, California. SCCRTC selected Iowa Pacific Holdings (IPH) to be the operator on the Branch Line and entered into ten-year Administration, Coordination and License (ACL) Agreement with IPH’s Santa Cruz & Monterey Bay (SC&MB) Railway. SC&MB Railway has been operating freight and passenger excursion service on the Branch Line since 2012. IPH/SC&MB Railway can no longer operate the Branch Line in accordance with the established ACL Agreement and has agreed to work with SCCRTC to install a new operator. SCCRTC purchased the Branch Line to make better use of this transportation asset for the benefit of the community. Therefore, in addition to continuing, and possibly expanding, freight and passenger excursion service, SCCRTC is working with various partners to build a bicycle and pedestrian path along the rail line. Construction of the
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The Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Contract Services Operator RFP.pdf · Attachment E) as reference. The selected proposer will assume an exclusive railroad freight operating
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1 RFP for rail service 12/08/2017
Request for Proposals for An Operator of Freight and Recreational Passenger Rail Service
on the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line December 8, 2017
I.
Introduction
The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (SCCRTC) is the
designated Regional Transportation Planning Agency (RTPA) for Santa Cruz County.
The agency consists of twelve members, representing the County of Santa Cruz, the
Cities of Capitola, Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley and Watsonville, and the Santa Cruz
Metropolitan Transit District. Caltrans serves as an ex-officio member. SCCRTC has
the authority to develop and oversee projects on public rail line rights-of-way in Santa
Cruz County.
SCCRTC purchased the the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line (Branch Line) from
Union Pacific Railroad Company (UPRR) in 2012. The Branch Line includes
approximately 31 route miles of right-of-way and standard gauge railroad line between
Watsonville Junction and Davenport, California. SCCRTC selected Iowa Pacific
Holdings (IPH) to be the operator on the Branch Line and entered into ten-year
Administration, Coordination and License (ACL) Agreement with IPH’s Santa Cruz &
Monterey Bay (SC&MB) Railway. SC&MB Railway has been operating freight and
passenger excursion service on the Branch Line since 2012. IPH/SC&MB Railway can
no longer operate the Branch Line in accordance with the established ACL Agreement
and has agreed to work with SCCRTC to install a new operator.
SCCRTC purchased the Branch Line to make better use of this transportation asset
for the benefit of the community. Therefore, in addition to continuing, and possibly
expanding, freight and passenger excursion service, SCCRTC is working with various
partners to build a bicycle and pedestrian path along the rail line. Construction of the
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first segment in the west side of the City of Santa Cruz should begin in the spring of
2018. SCCRTC is also investigating the possibility of regular passenger service.
The purpose of this Request for Proposals (RFP) is to solicit proposals from
operationally and financially qualified firms which will be evaluated by SCCRTC to
select a proposer to provide rail service for the Santa Cruz Subdivision. All proposers
will be considered by the SCCRTC. SCCRTC encourages prospective proposers to be
creative in their response to this request for proposals. SCCRTC will consider all
proposals submitted.
SCCRTC will provide the right-of-way, trackage, bridges, trestles and culverts,
signage and grade crossing warning systems to the selected proposer, in their current
condition. Currently, there are areas along the Branch Line with damage sustained
during the winter storms of the 2016-2017 winter. SCCRTC is working to make
appropriate repairs to ensure that the Branch Line is usable. Since purchasing the Branch
Line, SCCRTC has invested more than $5 million to reconstruct one significant steel
bridge and improve a number of timber bridges. The voters of Santa Cruz County
recently approved a sales tax measure for transportation that includes funds to make
further bridge and other improvements to the Branch Line. The selected operator will be
required to maintain the Branch Line to the level provided, including any improvements,
and to the level needed to ensure safe railroad operations. The contract between the two
parties will be an administration and coordination agreement generally in the same form
as the existing agreement with IPH/SC&MB Railway, and attached to this RFP (as
Attachment E) as reference.
The selected proposer will assume an exclusive railroad freight operating easement on the
Subdivision from IPH/SC&MB Railway. Like IPH/SC&MB Railway, the selected
proposer must obtain authority from the Surface Transportation Board to be the exclusive
common carrier by railroad to fulfill said operating easement. Through an administration
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and coordination agreement (as in Attachment E), the selected proposer will obtain from
SCCRTC the right to operate recreational passenger rail service on the Branch Line. The
selected proposer will be expected to maintain the right of way and infrastructure, and to
operate the rail services in accordance with applicable Federal Railroad Administration
(FRA) and California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) regulations. The selected
proposer will furnish qualified employees for train and engine crews, as well as
supervisory employees and support personnel. In addition, the selected proposer will
furnish property and liability insurance, an environmental protection program designed to
prevent and control environmental accidents, a safety program, an employee certification
program, and a substance abuse program. The selected proposer will be required to
cooperate with other SCCRTC-approved projects on the Branch Line, including, but not
limited to the Rail Trail.
In addition to an administration and coordination agreement, for continuity and
continuation of rail service the selected proposer will be required to enter into a railroad
interchange agreement with UPRR and accept and assume assignment of industry track
agreements and contract rate agreements as relate to freight customers on the Branch
Line. Additionally, the selected proposer will assume assignment of certain agreements
which impact and dictate aspects of the operation of the line.
II.
Proposal Contents, Process and Requirements
A.
Proposal Submissions
Each proposer must be submit its proposal as a reproducible original or in
reproducible electronic form in PDF and/or Microsoft Office format. Proposals submitted
pursuant to this RFP must be received by SCCRTC no later than 5:00 P.M. on January 4,
More information including inspections, structures assessments, title reviews, hazardous materials assessments, etc. is available on the RTC website at http://sccrtc.org/projects/rail/rail-line-purchase/rail-line-due-diligence/. For questions or additional information, please contact Luis Mendez at [email protected] or (831) 460-3212 I:\RAIL\ROWAcq\Operator\RFP2017\Attachment B - Map.doc