SMART receives federal funds to study eastward expansion through Sonoma Valley

Funds from federal infrastructure bill could help SMART bring passenger rail to Schellville as part of plan to connect Novato to Suisun City.

January 12, 2024

Schellville could eventually sport a transit station for “a state-of-the-art 21st century low-emissions” east-west rail system between Novato and Suisun City, according to Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit.

On Dec. 18, Caltrans received $500,000 as part of the Federal Rail Administration’s Corridor Identification and Development program to conduct a study with rail operators, including Smart for a plan to connect North Bay communities along San Pablo Bay to rail lines in the East Bay and Sacramento.

The funding comes as part of $66 billion in passenger rail investments from the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law passed in 2021. The 2017 state rail plan first envisioned a SMART train expansion from Novato to Suisun City in an effort to expand and modernize passenger rail in the North Bay, connecting it to the Amtrak commercial corridor to Sacramento.

Estimates for the project range from $780 million to $1.3 billion based on two designs with varying levels of service, according to projections from a 2019 SMART study on eastward expansion from Novato to Suisun City. The study described the project as not only “generally feasible” but “quite implementable and could be completed relatively quickly” in a four- to six-year time frame.

“Bringing home federal dollars to create cleaner, safer transportation systems is a top priority for me,” Congressman Jared Huffman said. “The FRA’s inclusion of SMART’s expansions of passenger rail service between Sacramento and Novato is an exciting investment that will open the door to even more dollars and contribute to a greener future for all our communities.”

Workers who commute between North Bay counties experience “punishing transportation conditions” along Highway 37 where it currently takes 80 minutes to drive between State Route 29 and Highway 101, according to Caltrans.

“A rail connection between Novato and Suisun could provide much needed relief to commuters that currently rely on State Route 37, a no-exit two-lane highway experiencing more annual vehicle hours of delay in Sonoma County than Highway 101,” the 2019 SMART study said.

However, the 2019 study expects just 2,100 initial passengers from the less expensive option and 5,400 passenger from the more robust option when the track is complete. Some SMART board members questioned in 2019 whether a billion-dollar project for so few riders would provide relief to traffic on Highway 37, which supports 40,000 vehicles per day.

SMART’s 12-person board has prioritized completion of a 70-mile north-south rail line between Larkspur and Cloverdale before pursuing eastward expansion of passenger rail services.

SMART communications and marketing manager Julia Gonzales said that details surrounding the project are still influx as SMART studies the scope, schedule and cost estimate for a Service Development Plan for the corridor.

“Details about which rail alignment will be utilized are yet to be determined and will be explored in the preparation of the Service Development Plan,” SMART communications and marketing manager Julia Gonzales wrote in an email to the Index-Tribune on Jan. 8.

Early blueprints for the eastward expansion suggest the rail line would use existing lines owned by SMART from Novato over the Black Point Bridge above the Petaluma River; This truss bridge would need to be rehabilitated as part of the project or another lift bridge would need to be acquired, the SMART study said. This rail line is used by Union Pacific Railroad for freight service.

The rail would go past Sonoma Raceway at the Highway 37-Highway 121 interchange and continue toward Schellville. Continuing eastward, the rail would enter Napa County and proceed over the Brazos Bridge toward American Canyon and run alongside Highway 12 to the Amtrak station in Suisun City near Fairfield. Sonoma Valley residents could see stations at Sonoma Raceway and Schellville, while Napa residents may get stations near American Canyon and the Highway 29-Highway 12 interchange.

Foreseeable challenges to the project will be environmental threats from rising sea waters from San Pablo Bay into wetlands along the Highway 37 corridor, along with CEQA regulations governing the protection of cultural resources along the project site.

Still, officials boasted about the $500,000 in FRA funds to study passenger rail expansion in the North Bay to pursue a vision of improved public transportation across the Bay Area and Northern California.

“Up until now, this east-west rail corridor that connects Marin, Sonoma and Solano Counties hadn’t been eligible for federal passenger rail funding,” majority leader of the California State Senate Mike McGuire said in the December press release. “Now, SMART will be able to tap these federal and state funds to help move the commuter service east.”

Chase Hunter covers the Sonoma city government, environmental issues, public health, crime, agriculture, housing and homelessness. Contact the reporter at chase.hunter@sonomanews.com or on their personal website chasehunterb.weebly.com


By:  CHASE HUNTER
Source: The Sonoma Index-Tribune