Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit, or SMART, is a commuter rail service in California's Sonoma and Marin counties. As of 2019[update] the line serves 12 stations: ten opened in the initial operating segment (IOS) and two were added when the line was extended to Larkspur. Four more stations are planned to open after further construction.[1]
The main line was built primarily by the Northwestern Pacific Railroad and received regular service until 1958 when passenger trains were discontinued south of Willits. After the decline in railway traffic in the post-WWII years, the line was eventually closed to all rail activity. The right-of-way was acquired by a special-purpose district and reopened to freight movements in 2011 and passenger service on August 25, 2017.[2]
Station platforms are 300 feet (91 m) in length (the sole exception is San Rafael's 285-foot (87 m) northbound platform) and are high-level to provide accessible boarding. Gauntlet tracks are installed at stations north of Ignacio to allow freight trains to pass with proper clearance.[3] Novato Downtown, San Rafael, and Santa Rosa stations are located adjacent to former NWP station buildings (as will be Healdsburg and Windsor), but the buildings are used for other purposes.
Stations
edit| County | Municipality | Station | Connections | Service began | Parking spaces | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sonoma | Mark West | Sonoma County Airport† |  Sonoma County Transit Shuttle to  Sonoma County Airport[4] |
August 25, 2017[b] | 50 |
|
| Santa Rosa | Santa Rosa North | Santa Rosa CityBus Sonoma County Transit[4] |
0 | 
| ||
| Santa Rosa Downtown | 
| |||||
| Rohnert Park | Rohnert Park | Sonoma County Transit[4] |
August 25, 2017[a] | n/a | 
| |
| Cotati | Cotati | n/a | 
| |||
| Petaluma | Petaluma Downtown | Sonoma County Transit[4] Petaluma Transit |
50 | 
| ||
| Marin | Novato | Novato San Marin | Golden Gate Transit Marin Transit |
45 | 
| |
| Novato Downtown | December 14, 2019 | 0 | ,_November_2019.JPG)
| |||
| Novato Hamilton | August 25, 2017[a] | 115 | ,_August_2018.JPG)
| |||
| San Rafael | Marin Civic Center | Marin Transit |
[d] | 
| ||
| San Rafael | Golden Gate Transit Marin Airporter Marin Transit Sonoma County Transit Greyhound Bus Lines |
August 25, 2017[c] | 0 | 
| ||
| Larkspur | Larkspur† | Marin Transit Larkspur Ferry Terminal |
December 14, 2019 | n/a | 
|
| † | Line termini |
Notes
a Station opened to limited preview service on June 29, 2017.[5]
b Station opened to limited preview service on July 1, 2017.[5]
c Station opened to limited preview service on July 8, 2017.[6]
d Free street parking
Future stations
edit| Station | Projected opening | Municipality | County | Status / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloverdale† | 2027[7] | Cloverdale | Sonoma | Eventual northern terminus of system |
| Healdsburg | 2027 | Healdsburg | ||
| Windsor | 2025 | Windsor | ||
| Petaluma North | 2025 | Petaluma | Planned infill station |
Suggestions have been put forward to eventually expand to Napa or Solano counties with connections at Suisun–Fairfield station,[7] or north along the Northwestern Pacific right of way to Ukiah or Willits[8][9] in Mendocino.
References
edit- ^ Prado, Mark (April 8, 2016). "SMART OKs rail stop in downtown Novato". Marin Independent Journal. Digital First Media.
- ^ "Freight Trains and Passenger Trains," (PDF). Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit. July 2008. Archived from the original (pdf) on June 13, 2010.
- ^ SMA Rail Consulting (April 2016). "California Passenger Rail Network Schematics" (PDF). California Department of Transportation.
- ^ a b c d Moore, Derek (July 14, 2017). "Sonoma County adds bus routes designed to serve SMART train users". The Press Democrat. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
- ^ a b "SMART Preview: Take a Ride with Us". Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit. Archived from the original on June 30, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
- ^ "SMART announces dates and schedule for free public Preview Rides in July" (PDF) (Press release). Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit. July 3, 2017.
- ^ a b "2018 California State Rail Plan (Draft)" (PDF). CalTrans. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ^ Quackenbush, Gary (30 October 2018). "SMART train system details roll-out to Windsor, Healdsburg, Cloverdale, Sonoma". North Bay Business Journal. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
- ^ Fixler, Kevin. "North Coast trail bill re-imagines SMART rail operations extending into Mendocino County". www.pressdemocrat.com. The Press Democrat. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
External links
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