[northbay]

SMART expects delivery of first commuter train in March




Employees from Shimmick Construction, contracted by the SMART agency, work to replace the Haystack Bridge over the Petaluma River on Wednesday, February 11, 2015 in Petaluma, California . (BETH SCHLANKER/ The Press Democrat)

BY MATT BROWN

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
February 11, 2015, 5:41PM

The Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit authority is expected to receive its first commuter train March 31, the agency announced Wednesday, as it outlined the final stage of major construction on the initial 43-mile line and highlighted plans for passenger service set to begin by the end of 2016.

A key remaining project is the replacement of a rail bridge over the Petaluma River. The work is ongoing and is expected to be finished this fall, SMART officials said.

Safety along the tracks also will be a challenge for SMART. Officials want to make people aware of the danger of fast-moving trains, especially after an accident last week involving a New York commuter train and an SUV that killed six. SMART received its own safety scare last week when a slow-moving rail car used in track construction got loose and rolled across three road crossings before coming to a stop a mile away.

No one was injured in the incident, but it raised safety concerns as the tracks that now handle a few freight trains per week are readied to facilitate 30 passenger trains a day.

“The loose rail car was our first trial on safety,” said Supervisor Shirlee Zane, a SMART board member.

The SMART contractor is investigating the incident, but it appears that the car’s brake was tampered with, said Jennifer Welch, SMART’s security manger. If vandalism is found to be the cause, law enforcement would get involved, she said. Federal transportation regulators only would get involved in the case of an accident, she said.

The first of SMART’s seven green-and-silver trains on Tuesday left the Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colo., where it underwent months of testing on everything from its diesel engines and brakes to its air conditioner and seats. From there, the train is heading back to the manufacturing plant in Illinois for some fine tuning before being shipped by rail to SMART, Lisa Cobb, the rail systems manager, said Wednesday at a SMART board workshop at the Hyatt Vineyard Creek hotel in Santa Rosa.

“It’s getting some last-minute tweaks,” she said.

The trains initially will be stored on a side track at Fulton Road and River Road north of Santa Rosa during construction of the SMART maintenance and operations center at Airport Boulevard, which is expected to open in July. Once they are delivered, the trains will be put through more tests along the initial operating segment from downtown San Rafael to north of Santa Rosa, Cobb said.

SMART contractors have reconstructed 40 miles of track in Sonoma and Marin counties, said Bill Gamlen, the chief engineer. The remaining track work includes replacing the 102-year-old Haystack Bridge over the Petaluma River with a 30-year-old span that the agency bought from Galveston, Texas, for $4.2 million in 2012.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/35...f-first?page=0