Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit

Green SMART train at platform full of people in Santa Rosa, California.

Bay Area's 'Most Recovered' Rail Line Expands North

Among the San Francisco Bay Area's 27 transit systems, one rail line stands out for recovered pre-pandemic ridership: the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District. Now it's headed 9 miles north to Healdsburg.

October 1, 2025 - Bay City News Foundation

Commuter Rail

New Train Station in North Bay Brings Commuters One Step Closer to S.F.

The new Larkspur Station on the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) system brings commuters much closer to a ferry across the bay.

December 8, 2019 - San Francisco Chronicle

New Bay Area Commuter Rail Service Begins Today

Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) train is set to start service Friday, running between Sonoma and Marin Counties in the Bay Area. Future extensions are planned that to take it to Larkspur for ferry service to San Francisco.

August 25, 2017 - SF Gate

Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit Employees Get a Raise—Months Before Operations Begin

The North San Francisco Bay Area has lacked passenger rail for decades—but the process of hiring the staff necessary to operate the line on a daily basis has been complicated by the cost of housing in the area.

July 28, 2016 - Marin Independent Journal

Gentrification and the Bay Area's Controversial Growth Management Plan

Is gentrification the inevitable result of land use planning that reduces greenhouse gas emissions by favoring infill development over auto-dependent sprawl? The Urban Displacement Project looks at the unintended effects of Plan Bay Area.

August 29, 2015 - Marin Independent Journal

Marin TOD Planning: Drop The 'D'

Marin County, long known for its environmental awareness, is concerned about anything that is "growth inducing", and that certainly includes the new SMART passenger rail system, approved by the voters in November, that will serve Sonoma and Marin.

December 30, 2009 - Marin Independent Journal

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.

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