SMART - Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit

Great to see new transit like this.

However, I scrolled through the reviews online and it seems the fare structure is strange (one monthly pass price across all zones), normal fares are too high (max 11.50 for a one way), and the scheduling isn't perfect for commuters.

I hope they fix these problems -- this has a lot of potential.

Commuter reaction to SMART service:

The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit agency attracted nearly 53,000 riders in its first three weeks of service, surpassing projections for the period of 46,800 passengers.

The biggest surprise has been the 15,000 weekend patrons, which is more than seven times greater than first anticipated.

Even so, the majority of passengers still ride during the week, and interviews with a half-dozen commuters offered overwhelmingly positive reviews.

more:
http://www.petaluma360.com/news/7458687 ... artslide=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Digging into these numbers a little more.....
53k - 15k = 38k
5 x 3 = 15
38k / 15 = 2,533 riders per weekday.
2 x 3 = 6
15k / 6 = 2,500 riders per weekend day
Then consider that most commuters will ride both ways every day which count as separate trips, they're only removing half as many cars from the freeway; 1266 cars per weekday, 1250 cars per weekend day.

If your figures are correct, then
2,533 weekday riders divided among 34 trains = 74.5 riders per two-car trainset or 37.25 per car.
BUT 2,500 weekend riders divided among 10 trains = 250 riders per two-car trainset or 125 per car (or perhaps 83.33 per car for a three-car trainset). How is this possible without massive overcrowding?

The stated capacity of a Nippon-Sharyo DMU is 159 people (79 seated, 80 standing). So 250 people per train would be extremely crowded. Something seems off.

And there are at least two cars per train.
Some math;
159 x 2 = 318.
318 - 250 = 68

What's worse, I'm reading they are seeing many more bikes being carried aboard than projected, and bikes take up room availability for standing passers.

if this trend continues, i expect the order for the third (middle cars) of these trains to have expanded bike racks where the restroom and bar areas are on the other cars.

Got a question for y'all:

I read that the SMART DMUs are FRA compliant. Is that true? And if so, how's the acceleration on those things? I'd imagine all the weight has an effect on it...

Yes, they are fully FRA compliant. I have no idea how fast they accelerate.
They weigh 149,000 pounds, which includes the engine and transmission.
http://www.nipponsharyousa.com/products ... smart.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For comparison purposes only, a Budd RDC weighs 113,000 pounds.

Proposed Extension: PressDemocrat.com

SMART eyes eastbound rail extension toward Solano County

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.
...

I checked OpenRailwayMap and I found a likely route.

About 2 miles south of Novato along the existing line is a line called the Brazos Branch. It goes northeastward to the south end of Sonoma, then the Schellville Branch goes southeastward to the north end of American Canyon, then eastward to Suisun City. From American Canyon, the Vallejo Branch goes southward into downtown Vallejo.

So one gets San Rafael - Sonoma - American Canyon - Vallejo / Suisun City

Historically there was a cutoff between the Brazos Branch and Schelleville Brnach in between where both jog over towards Sonoma. I wonder who owns that right of way

Novato-Schellville-Suisun seems a pretty winding route. It doesn't seem heavily populated. Is this a case of "we own the track, let's do something with it"?

there is potential there for decent speeds, perhaps, given the limited number of stops…

Separate thread on the rail trail being replaced (!!!!!!!!!!): viewtopic.php?f=118&t=168423" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Which is misleading because they are not permanently eliminating the rail trail. But they are moving it from the center of the right of way to the edge. When construction is completed, both the railroad tracks and trail pavement will be within the existing right of way.