Bay Area's Newest Commuter Rail Service on Display

Mark Prado of the Marin Independent Journal pens a comprehensive piece on the background and what to expect from the 70-mile Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) line, set to begin service in late 2016 and intended to reduce congestion on the North Bay's Hwy 101 corridor. 

“It’s somewhat remarkable that it’s here,” said Randy Rentschler, legislation and public affairs director for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission [MTC], as he toured the train. “They had rail here historically and they lost it and to put it back is not an easy thing."

"The initial phase will take passengers from San Rafael to Santa Rosa," writes Prado. Final plans call for an extension south San Rafael to the Larkspur Ferry landing where commuters would transfer to a Golden Gate Ferry to San Francisco, as was done 75 years ago. An extension north from Santa Rosa to Cloverdale completes the 70-mile route.

Funding for the new rail lines comes from the 2008 Marin County and Sonoma County Measure Q, a 20-year, 1/4-cent sales tax that required a two-thirds vote, according to Ballotpedia. It received 63 percent support in Marin and 74 percent support in Sonoma. Voters had rejected earlier measures in 1990, 1998 and 2006, notes Prado.

An "adjacent bicycle and pedestrian path is part of the planned work," adds Prado, which may have helped the ballot measure attain the two-thirds threshold.

The SMART District has "ordered 14 clean-diesel, energy-efficient trains that will run at a top speed of 79 miles per hour from Cloverdale to Larkspur," according to the website.

"The SMART cars are known as diesel multiple units [DMU] that have engines in each car, allowing them to operate independently in sets of two," wrote Prado in an earlier article. "Eventually a middle third car — the cars SMART now has an option for — could be added."

Rail cars will be manufactured by a partnership of Sumitomo Corp. of America and and Nippon Sharyo USA at its Rochelle, Illinois facility.

A YouTube video set to classical music of a SMART Train entering Marin County at Black Point [swing] Bridge accompanies the article. It mimicks a new car commercial—set mostly entirely within natural landscapes: no people (not even passengers), no other trains, and only at the end does the SMART train, traveling on a single-track corridor, go through a rural, controlled grade crossing showing a few cars.  Not even familiar train sounds are present, which could upset some rail fans.

Thanks to SMART and the North Coast Railroad Authority, this century-old historical landmark is working again, and rail fans will be soon be able to take new photos of passenger trains crossing the bridge. 

Hat tip to MTC's daily Transportation news Headlines.