SMART - Sanoma-Marin County NWP for commuter

[George Harris]

Little noitced in all the other hoopla, in the 2008 general election, Sonoma and Marin Counties in California passed Measure Q. Measure Q is a 1/4 percent sales tax to fund restoration of 70 miles of the ex Northwestern Pacific for commuter service. It was approved by 70% of the voters.

The segment runs from a ferry terminal at larkspur through Novato, Petaluma, Santa Rosa to Cloverdale, whch is near the northern boundary of Sonoma County. It will have a single track railroad and parallel bike path.

The plan is to have a very basic track structure of 115 lb/yd rail on wood ties., with the trains being DMU's. There will incidental freight traffic, the trains operated by the North Coast Railroad Authority (NCRA), which I think is the owner of the railroad.

They have a web site that has quite a bit of information. It is www.sonomamarintrain.org

Estimated cost is "about $590 million"

From the site:

The SMART train and pathway project will provide the backbone of a transportation system that ties existing transit systems such as buses and ferries along with future options such as shuttles and trollies into a seamless network that creates true transportation options for North Bay residents. Without that backbone, a congested Highway 101 will remain the only viable alternative for north-south travel in the two counties.

It is intended to have part of the line in service in 2014. One piece that has alread been done is clearing and relining the 1100 feet long Cal Park Hill Tunnel which is just north of larkspur. It was double track. It is now set up to have one side as a bike path with the other side for the trains, wit a full height wall in between. It was recently opened for bike traffic. At this point there is nothing in the rail side.

They have now selected a veicle supplier. There is an announcement in the online edition of Railway Age:

www.railwayage.com/breaking-news/sumitomo-nippon-sharyo-tapped-by-smart-for-dmus.html/

Quoting the first paragraph from the Railway Age website:

SMART taps Sumitomo/Nippon Sharyo for DMUs Thursday, December 16, 2010

Sumitomo Corp. of America announced Thursday that, in conjunction with its carbuilder partner Nippon Sharyo, it has been awarded a contract from Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit District (SMART) to supply 18 diesel multiple-unit (DMU) railcars for use in Californias Sonoma and Marin counties, north of San Francisco.

Other points of information:

Contract price: $57 million

Delivery: Late 2013 early 2014

 

[Shawn Ryu]

Little noitced in all the other hoopla, in the 2008 general election, Sonoma and Marin Counties in California passed Measure Q. Measure Q is a 1/4 percent sales tax to fund restoration of 70 miles of the ex Northwestern Pacific for commuter service. It was approved by 70% of the voters.

The segment runs from a ferry terminal at larkspur through Novato, Petaluma, Santa Rosa to Cloverdale, whch is near the northern boundary of Sonoma County. It will have a single track railroad and parallel bike path.

The plan is to have a very basic track structure of 115 lb/yd rail on wood ties., with the trains being DMU's. There will incidental freight traffic, the trains operated by the North Coast Railroad Authority (NCRA), which I think is the owner of the railroad.

They have a web site that has quite a bit of information. It is www.sonomamarintrain.org

Estimated cost is "about $590 million"

From the site:

The SMART train and pathway project will provide the backbone of a transportation system that ties existing transit systems such as buses and ferries along with future options such as shuttles and trollies into a seamless network that creates true transportation options for North Bay residents. Without that backbone, a congested Highway 101 will remain the only viable alternative for north-south travel in the two counties.

It is intended to have part of the line in service in 2014. One piece that has alread been done is clearing and relining the 1100 feet long Cal Park Hill Tunnel which is just north of larkspur. It was double track. It is now set up to have one side as a bike path with the other side for the trains, wit a full height wall in between. It was recently opened for bike traffic. At this point there is nothing in the rail side.

They have now selected a veicle supplier. There is an announcement in the online edition of Railway Age:

www.railwayage.com/breaking-news/sumitomo-nippon-sharyo-tapped-by-smart-for-dmus.html/

Quoting the first paragraph from the Railway Age website:

SMART taps Sumitomo/Nippon Sharyo for DMUs Thursday, December 16, 2010

Sumitomo Corp. of America announced Thursday that, in conjunction with its carbuilder partner Nippon Sharyo, it has been awarded a contract from Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit District (SMART) to supply 18 diesel multiple-unit (DMU) railcars for use in California’s Sonoma and Marin counties, north of San Francisco.

Other points of information:

Contract price: $57 million

Delivery: Late 2013 early 2014

Just exactly what city does it serve?

 

[rrdude]

The rail line runs from Cloverdale, at the north end of Sonoma County, to Larkspur, where the Golden Gate Ferry connects Marin County with San Francisco. Along the way SMART will have stations at the major population and job centers of the North Bay: San Rafael, Novato, Petaluma, Cotati, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, Windsor and Healdsburg.

 

[GiantsFan]

Wow.... now this is exciting stuff!

 

[George Harris]

To a great extent building/resurrecting this system is going full circle. Before the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge, traffic from these northern penninsula points to San Franciso and other points across the water was by rail to the ferry terminal and then ferrys. Congestion on the GG Bridge and approaches has reached the point that ferriers are carrying increasing traffic, but with somewhat weak public transportation beyond the ferry terminal. Many of these same places are served by buses across the GG Bridge, but the buses are also affected by traffic both in approach to the bridge and on the San Francisco side.

 

[Lionel Gambill]

Please note it is not the EX Northwestern Pacific. SMART and NCRA/NWPC share the right to use the name and the logo. The railroad still exists despite having been shut down since 1998, and track repair will continue to extend northward as revenue is generated by freight and then tourist/excursion) trains.