SMART - Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit

If rails are built, riders will come.

That's what the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit board is banking on as it positioned itself to add more rail cars after service begins in 2016. Earlier this week it rejiggered its contract with the Sumitomo Corp. of America to allow it to buy three more rail cars at current prices — about $3.5 million each — until the end of 2017. Under the old deal the contract was up at the end of 2015.

more:
http://www.marinij.com/novato/ci_267501 ... er-service" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

NH2060 wrote:San Rafael rejects SMART station designs:
Fair use quote>

San Rafael City Council members voted unanimously Tuesday night to send a letter to SMART stating their displeasure with the platform or station designs, which are 65 percent complete. The scant designs by Oakland-based businesses AECOM Technical Services and FMG Architects feature a canopy, bench, ticket machine, trash can and street light.

http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_264 ... ous-by-san" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Overall, I believe the platform designs are fine functionally. While SMART proposes using basic construction materials, there's no reason local communities couldn't add to them. A clock tower, masonry upright support columns, tiles or wood shingles on roofs, colored concrete pressed platform surfaces or tile platform surfaces can be added to SMART's basic designs and make them look far better. Each and every one on these examples cost more than the basic construction materials SMART proposes, but each one individually doesn't cost much. Although it will cost much more to include every one of my examples. Let the cities decide and pay for what they want to add.

Some info about recent construction on the ROW, with pictures.

New track has been a priority. Some of the old track, in particular near Novato, was still functional and used by freight service. But that old track could only handle train speeds of up to 25 mph, too slow for commuter service. The newly installed SMART rails will be able to accommodate speeds of up to 82 mph, although the SMART plan calls for a top speed of 79 mph.

Major work has also been completed on the Novato Creek Bridge. That $2.6 million project is critical not only for SMART but communities and areas around the old bridge that were subject to flooding during heavy rains.

http://www.marinij.com/novato/ci_269337 ... -set-begin" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Puerto Suello Hill Tunnel rehab news:

A 135-year-old train tunnel in San Rafael with a storied and tragic history is being brought back to life as part of the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit commuter rail project.

The 1,300-foot-long Puerto Suello Hill Tunnel beneath Lincoln Avenue has been a hub of activity since July as SMART crews work to ready it for trains to bring passengers through Terra Linda into downtown San Rafael in 2016.

http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_270 ... mart-train" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Larkspur extension news:

Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit officials announced Monday the agency is in line to receive funding to the extend the commuter rail service to Larkspur.

President Obama's new budget recommends $20 million to complete construction of SMART's rail extension from San Rafael to Larkspur. If approved by Congress, the funding would come to the region as part of the Federal Transit Administration's "Small Starts" grant program.

http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_274 ... mas-budget" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

First railcars arrive on property:

Two decades after the concept of bringing commuter rail service to the North Bay started gathering steam, the first set of trains operated by the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit authority pulled into the Cotati station Tuesday to cheers from hundreds of spectators.

Skeptics doubted whether such a day ever would arrive, given the myriad financial and regulatory hurdles the rail authority had to overcome to reach the historic milestone. Significant questions remain prior to passenger service starting, currently set for December 2016.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/home/37622 ... -roll-into" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Drone view of railcar crossing Black Point Bridge:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7wcimMOjzg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Slow speed runbys:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGkjxNubRPk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

$11m grant to get 3 more units:
http://www.masstransitmag.com/news/1402 ... -rail-cars" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The three cars will expand SMART's existing fleet of 14 cars, which operate in two-car sets, enabling the system to run a trio of three-car sets, Mansourian said. The new cars are "middle cars" that will sandwich between two of the existing cars, he said.

That configuration boosts passenger capacity from 320 people sitting and standing to 450 people in the three-car sets, he said.

dowlingm wrote:$11m grant to get 3 more units:
http://www.masstransitmag.com/news/1402 ... -rail-cars" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The three cars will expand SMART's existing fleet of 14 cars, which operate in two-car sets, enabling the system to run a trio of three-car sets, Mansourian said. The new cars are "middle cars" that will sandwich between two of the existing cars, he said.

That configuration boosts passenger capacity from 320 people sitting and standing to 450 people in the three-car sets, he said.

They had already bought 14 car ( 7 married pairs). This additional 3 "middle cars" will allow the following configurations.
3 triplets and 4 pairs.

If the platforms were not so short, just long enough for three cars, they could have 6 married pairs and 1 quintuplet.

And they could use 2 of the 3 of them to make an 8th married pair if they wish.

It looks like SMARTs option pricing expires in 2017. Will be interesting to see if any additional transit agencies other than Metrolinx and Trimet purchase some options from SMART before the deadline.

kaitoku wrote:First railcars arrive on property:

Two decades after the concept of bringing commuter rail service to the North Bay started gathering steam, the first set of trains operated by the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit authority pulled into the Cotati station Tuesday to cheers from hundreds of spectators.

Skeptics doubted whether such a day ever would arrive, given the myriad financial and regulatory hurdles the rail authority had to overcome to reach the historic milestone. Significant questions remain prior to passenger service starting, currently set for December 2016.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/home/37622 ... -roll-into" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Drone view of railcar crossing Black Point Bridge:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7wcimMOjzg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Slow speed runbys:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGkjxNubRPk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

incredible – is that swing bridge expected to stay for the final service?

lensovet wrote: incredible – is that swing bridge expected to stay for the final service?

Yes, the Black Point bridge will remain in service with freight train services, one or two freight trains per day. It is located between Novato and Vallejo near the Sonoma Race track where the passenger trains will not be in regular service.

The swing bridge over the Petaluma River in Petaluma will be replaced by a basque bridge that had been used to cross the intercostal waterway near Galveston. That swing bridge is up for sell, if nobody wants it it will be sold for scrap. This bridge will be used multiple times a day by the passenger trains.

A bridge made in the Basque Region of Spain?
Or perhaps a bascule bridge?

Progressive Railroading

STV Inc. marks progress on Sonoma-Marin commuter line

Rail-car testing along a 42-mile stretch of the line between Santa Rosa and San Rafael, Calif., marked a milestone for the project, according to a news release from STV Inc., which is part of a design-build team led by a Stacy & Witbeck/Herzog joint venture.

Additionally, the team is continuing to reconstruct track along the Northwestern Pacific freight railroad corridor. The work involves repair, rehabilitation or full replacement of 25 bridges; upgrades to more than 40 grade crossings; adding several passing sidings; and installation of eight new passenger platforms, STV officials said.

The first phase of the $360 million SMART program is slated to be completed and begin operation in late 2016 under a design-build delivery contract.

Pointed down a narrow line separating sun-drenched wetlands from a high-traffic stretch of Highway 101, DeAndre Bess grabbed the throttle on the control console. Eyes straight ahead, he uttered the countdown.

“Three ... two ... one. Full power,” he said.

As Japanese rail engineers from manufacturer Nippon Sharyo huddled over a cluster of laptops showing readings from sensors all over the vehicle, the two-car train for the forthcoming Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit system accelerated smoothly down a stretch of uninterrupted rail near the Redwood Landfill just south of Petaluma last week. At 50 mph, it was the fastest a SMART train had traveled to date, a precursor to the 79 mph test to come in the next few days.

more:
http://www.petaluma360.com/news/4655721 ... rway-south" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

79mph test runs done:

Barreling along a track south of Petaluma at a top speed of 79 mph this week, a two-car Sonoma- Marin Area Rail Transit train moved with surprising grace for machinery weighing 160 tons.

Outside picture windows in the passenger cabins, an autumn evening enveloped the landscape, the setting sun casting a fading glow on marshlands east of the tracks.

Nearing Novato, where the rail line pulls alongside Highway 101, the gray-and-green train cars whizzed by vehicles inching along in rush-hour traffic.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/46475 ... artslide=3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;