Wednesday, March 03, 2004
Solar Powered Light Rail in Santa Cruz
When You Go To Santa Cruz, Be Sure To Take The SolTrain Mercury News reports that the future of mass transit is in Santa Cruz County, California:I wonder how they expect it to run at night or on cloudy days.As Silicon Valley bemoans falling ridership on its light-rail system, Santa Cruz County is quietly becoming an incubator for Jetsons-like 21st-century transportation systems. Grass-roots groups say they've seen the future of public transit -- and it's not near the chips. It's near the beach.The SolTrain would be a solar-powered ultra-light rail train. Designed to run on normal-gauge track, this single-cab train would carry around 20 people.And it may become a reality. The SolTrain group is presenting a plan to the county's Regional Transportation Commission to use the SolTrain for a proposed tourist line.