[northbay]

SMART eyes eastbound rail extension toward Solano County


Lupita C.A. waits on the SMART platform for a northboud train on Friday, September 29, 2017 in Petaluma, California. (BETH SCHLANKER/The Press Democrat)

GUY KOVNER

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT | November 10, 2017, 4:41PM
| Updated 11 hours ago.

Up and running for less than three months on a portion of its planned 70-mile route, the North Bay’s new commuter rail line is pursuing a plan to branch out to Solano County, where it would connect with the national rail system running from coast to coast.

The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit system already owns 25 miles of track from Novato to the north end of Vallejo and would acquire use of the tracks from there to an Amtrak station at Suisun City.

“You gotta have a vision so you can get places,” said Farhad Mansourian, SMART general manager. At Suisun City, North Bay passengers could “go anywhere in the country,” he said.

The proposed extension, known as the Novato-Solano Hub, is included in the 2018 California State Rail Plan drafted by Caltrans as a blueprint for boosting ridership on the statewide rail and bus system from 110,000 daily trips currently to more than 1.3 million daily trips by 2040.

SMART officials said they were pleased to be included in the state plan and are seeking an $837,000 grant to pay for a feasibility study of the link to Suisun City.

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SMART’s eastward track intersects the north-south line at a “Y” connection in Novato and runs east along Highway 37, then north along Highway 121 to Schellville, where it jogs east over the Napa River to Vallejo.

The only part of the line that flooded last winter is at Schellville and that condition would have to be addressed, Mansourian said.

The extension would offer relief to traffic congestion on Highway 37, which he described as “a mess.”

You can reach Staff Writer Guy Kovner at 707-521-5457 or guy.kovner@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @guykovner.

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