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Filed under: Humboldt, Marin, Mendocino, NCRA, Northwestern Pacific Railroad, Railroad, Sonoma
November 10, 2009
To All Interested Parties:
The Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the North Coast Railroad Authority Project (SCH 2007072052) has been issued for public comments. Since the March 9, 2009 DEIR was circulated, new information that is considered significant has been made available. In accordance with CEQA 15088.5, the March 9, 2009 DEIR is being revised and recirculated to provide the public with the opportunity to comment on the revisions. Because the new information affected numerous sections throughout the document, the entire DEIR is being recirculated.
Previous comments on the March 9, 2009 DEIR will still be considered part of the public record, but written responses to these comments will not be included in the final EIR. The public is therefore advised to submit new comments on the revised DEIR.
The following provides a summary of the primary areas where the March 9, 2009 DEIR was revised:
• Since the March 9, 2009 DEIR was circulated, the NCRA Board approved its final Trail Guidelines. These guidelines are significantly different than the draft Northwestern Pacific Railroad Company (NWP Co.) Trail Guidelines that were used in the March 9, 2009 Public Safety analysis. The final NCRA Trail Guidelines are available on the NCRA web page.
• The March 9, 2009 DEIR identified BMPs as mitigation measures, but did not include a copy of them in the document. It was originally felt that since the agencies would be reviewing the BMPs prior to operations, it was not critical that they be included in the DEIR. NCRA has finalized its BMPs and these are now included in Appendix A of the revised DEIR.
• NCRA’s current operator is NWP Co.; however, since it is feasible that a different operator could at some point operate on the rail line, the revised DEIR includes or references NCRA’s plans and procedures instead of NWP Co. specific plans and procedures. It is understood that any operator will be required to follow NCRA’s plans and procedures.
• Detailed discussion was included in the cumulative section regarding the operating agreement between NCRA and SMART. Many of these details are still being discussed; therefore, they have been removed from the cumulative section. The combined operations of the passenger and freight trains will be in compliance with FRA safety regulations.
• The NCRA Rehabilitation of the rail line from Lombard to Windsor was included as a cumulative project.
This document represents the revised DEIR which is currently being recirculated for public review and comment.
Publication of this DEIR marks the beginning of a 45-day public review period, during which written comments may be submitted to the NCRA at the following address:
Written comments may be submitted to the following addresses:
North Coast Railroad Authority
419 Talmage Road, Suite M
Ukiah, CA 95482
mitch.stogner@northcoastrailroad.org
To conserve resources, this DEIR is being distributed primarily on computer disk. The DEIR will be available as of November 11, 2009 at the North Coast Railroad Authority website at www.northcoastrailroad.org. The review period for this DEIR is November 10, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
Copies of the DEIR (hard copy of the Executive Summary and a CD for computer viewing of the remainder of the document) may also be reviewed at the following libraries:
Marin Civic Center Library
3501 Civic Center Drive #427
San Rafael, CA 94903
Sonoma County Library
211 E Street
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Mendocino County Library
105 N. Main Street
Ukiah, CA 95482
Humboldt County Library
1313 Third St
Eureka CA 95501
Filed under: Humboldt, Marin, Napa Valley, North Coast Railroad, Railroad, Samoa
THA finishes lower boiler shop roof!
Lower boiler shop roof finished Nov 2009, Samoa, CA
Various retired teachers volunteering their time.
Some retired teachers rack up an incredible number of hours focused mainly on one special interest. A good example of that kind of dedication is Mike Kellogg, retired social science teacher at Eureka High School. A man of many talents, he has given most of his 1,150 reported volunteer hours this past year for the Timber Heritage Association.
SF Gate: Bill Provines – fireman on novel train – dies
Bill Provines, the last surviving employee of the famous “crookedest railroad in the world” that once climbed Mount Tamalpais, died Friday at his home in Novato of heart failure. He was 101.
Vacaville The Reporter: Rail cars arrive for refurbishment
Drivers crossing the Wichels Causeway on and off Mare Island on Wednesday were privy to a recent rarity on the island: A train chugging across, whistle blowing.
Wednesday marked the first installment of Mare Island newcomer business Alstom’s plans to refurbish 66 Amtrak Capitol Corridor trains. The initial three passenger cars to grace newly aligned track leading into Alstom’s Building 599 warehouse were towed by Alstom venture partner, San Francisco Bay Railroad.
I’m pretty sure it was a horn, not a whistle blowing. Thanks to Shawn for providing this one.
Link to video, embedded didn’t seem to work for me.
Here is a quick timelapse video of the recent joining of the P&SR Caboose #1 onto it’s newly rebuilt trucks. More video of the event coming soon.
NVR: Devlin extension gets rolling
For the next several weeks, trucks will build a section of a bridge over railroad tracks north of Green Island Road, using soil from a hill near Napa County Airport.
Green Island road is south of, and runs along the tracks leading to NWP/NCRA. Should provide another vantage point for railfans.
1948 U.S. Railroad Atlas Thanks to those who have posted this online.
After years of delay, a state-funded rail agency has finished repairing the Northwestern Pacific freight line in Sonoma, Marin and Napa counties, paving the way for a return of cargo service early next year.
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Meanwhile, three environmental groups are threatening legal action to stop the freight service, arguing the rail authority hasn’t weighed all the impacts.
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The groups — the Environmental Protection Information Center, Friends of the Eel River and Californians for Alternatives to Toxics — also said the authority has taken no action to clean up polluted rail yards.
Note: NCRA has started clean up, but has been delayed due to lack of funds. Governor vetoed last funding to clean up these sites.
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Freight service could start by next March, according to NCRA.
The railroad’s private operator, NWP Co., will be ready when it gets the go-ahead, said John Williams, the company’s president. But the timing remains uncertain, he said.
“I’m reluctant to tell anybody — including the shipping community — that we’re going to start on a specific date,” Williams said. “They’re not going to shift from trucking if they’re not sure we’re going to be there.”
via Ready to haul freight again | PressDemocrat.com | The Press Democrat | Santa Rosa, CA.
Filed under: Marin, Northwestern Pacific Railroad, Railroad, SMART, Sonoma, trails, transit
A San Francisco firm has been selected to write the specifications and design requirements for the trains, tracks and stations for the Sonoma-Marin commute rail system.
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The firm, LTK Engineering Services, also will support SMART in its dealings with the Federal Railroad Administration and state Public Utilities Commission, which oversee railroads.
The contract is for $2 million and runs through December 2010.
The SMART board on Wednesday also approved contracts to two firms to design the pedestrian and bicycle pathway that will be alongside the 70-mile train right-of-way.
Filed under: Marin, NCRA, Northwestern Pacific Railroad, Railroad, Sonoma
PRESS RELEASE – Ukiah – October 22, 2009
North Coast Railroad Authority (NCRA) Chairman, Allan Hemphill today announced that $40
million in repairs to 62 miles of the Northwestern Pacific (NWP) railway between Napa County
and Windsor have been completed.
He said Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) inspection of the repairs to trackway, crossing
signals, and bridges between Windsor in Sonoma County and the national rail interchange
(Lombard), located North of American Canyon in Napa County, will take up to 90 days.
Hemphill said the NCRA’s contract rail operator, the Northwestern Pacific Company (NWP
Co.), expects to be operational on this 62 mile stretch of the NWP line no later than March of
next year.
“The return of freight service to the NWP line will take trucks off of 101, reduce greenhouse gas
emissions, and reduce transportation costs for North Bay businesses and agricultural interests,”
said Hemphill.
He said one immediate beneficiary of freight train service will be Marin and Sonoma dairymen
who are suffering from escalating costs of feed grains that must be trucked in from the Central
Valley.
“The delivery of livestock feed by rail will substantially reduce transportation costs and provide
an immediate life line for Marin and Sonoma County dairymen and ranchers,” said Hemphill.
Other commodities expected to be moved on the line in the first year of service include wood
products, building materials, cases of wine, and other general merchandize. Hemphill said the
NWP Co. estimates operations of 3 roundtrip trains per week in 2010, increasing to 3 roundtrips
per day in 2011 and beyond.
Train service was stopped by the FRA in 1998 due to safety concerns. The California
Transportation Commission (CTC) released about $40 million in state funds to repair 62 miles of
track from Lombard to Windsor in 2006. NCRA started work in 2007 to repair 55 crossing
signals, replace 50,000 crossties and 23,000 tons of ballast, shore-up levees in Schellville, and
repair 43 rail bridges between Windsor and the train connection with the Union Pacific
(Lombard) located North of American Canyon. A lawsuit by the City of Novato objecting to the
repairs delayed work for 14 months. The lawsuit was finally settled and work resumed in
November 2008.
Hemphill said that the FRA will begin inspection of the track in November. He said that before
freight operations can begin, the FRA must lift the emergency order that stopped train service in
1998. He said the NCRA must also certify a $2.5 million Environmental Impact Report (EIR)
originally issued last March. The draft EIR will be reissued in November, with the goal of final
adoption in January or February 2010. The EIR, which is required under the California
Environmental Quality Act, evaluates the impacts of train operations on the Russian River
Division, defined as Lombard to Willits.
“Trains are good for the environment, good energy policy, and good for the local economy,” said
Hemphill.
“Impacts from the return of train service are overwhelmingly positive. One rail car will remove
4 trucks from 101, and 1 gallon of diesel will move one ton of freight over 400 miles,” he said
Filed under: Marin, NCRA, Napa Valley, Northwestern Pacific Railroad, Novato, Petaluma, Railroad, SMART, Sonoma
Royal Petroleum received the county’s blessing earlier this year to add a 9,000-square-foot biodiesel plant at the former Rinehart’s truck stop and scales, near the Highway 101 off-ramp to Petaluma Boulevard South.
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Each year, the plant is expected to produce 5 million gallons of the fuel — a processed form of plant oil — to be sold at Royal Petroleum’s network of stations, Hill said.
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Initially, the unprocessed plant matter needed to make the fuel will be trucked to the site from Richmond, but the finished product will supplant standard petroleum-based diesel, the company noted.
The site’s proximity to the Petaluma River and the railroad tracks could also mean future deliveries via barge or freight train, the company suggested.
NBay Business Journal: SMART out seeking proposals to start rail project
NORTH BAY – Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit has requested proposals for three major contracts for the $590 million rail project and is about to put out requests for the remaining three.
New railroad for Mare Island. “San Francisco Bay Railroad-Mare Island”
This eight mile railroad would operate between Flosden Acres, and Mare Island. It will be interesting to railfan the interchange area, considering NWP will interchange not too much north of this railroads interchange area. Docket Number: FD_35304_0, filed 28 Sept 2009.
Down in the area over the weekend. The south part of the Ignacio wye has been cleaned up of weeds. I noticed on Saturday ballast work was done through Novato, but not yet in Petaluma. The new crossing by Petaluma’s sewer plant, has the cement crossings installed now, and just needs asphalt to fill it in. Got to watch the electrical contractor go through the depot area on a hyrail pickup.
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- Highway 37 crossing looking south 2 Oct 2009
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- Novato creek 3 Oct 2009 looking south
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- Novato creek 3 Oct 2009 looking north
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- Downtown Novato 3 Oct 2009
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- crossing by Petaluma sewer 3 Oct 2009
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- north of Petaluma depot 3 Oct 2009
Filed under: Humboldt, Marin, NCRA, Napa Valley, Northwestern Pacific Railroad, Novato, Railroad, Samoa, Santa Rosa, Sonoma, THA
I’ve been a miss, with the news lately, though that makes some of you happy.
Samoa Roundhouse with Timber Heritage Association collection
Win A Trip Aboard A Private Rail Car
Emeryville – Reno – Emeryville
January 15th to 17th or February 12th – 14th
Step aboard the opulent private rail car and experience all
the romance and nostalgia of a bygone era. Enjoy spectacular
scenery, fine food, warm and friendly staff to pamper you, so
you can relax and have fun in an elegant atmosphere. The
Virginia City is an elegant private rail car that has a brassrailed
open observation platform, cozy lounge with a working
fireplace, and dramatic dining room with an ornate crystal
chandelier.
The package includes round trip for two, meals, alcohol and
overnight accommodations. The value of the package is
$1,118. raffle conducted by the timber heritage association
Raffle Tickets Are Only $10
need not be present to win Drawing October 23rd
Purchase as many as you want now!
Timber Heritage Association will have an Oktoberfest Fundraiser, Oct 23rd. Oysters and ale event won’t be happening this year, last I heard.
The last speeder run for this year is this Saturday.
A neat site with some old Humboldt photos, including rail.
Down in Santa Rosa, The Great Handcar Regatta will take place at the depot on Sunday
SR PD article, and website.
* WHAT
Hand-Built Railcar Races, Arts, Performance, Live Music, Crafts, Fine Foods, Costumed Rabble & more!
* WHEN
Sunday, September 27th, 2009. 11 am to 6 pm.
* WHERE
Railroad Square, Santa Rosa, CA, in Depot Park between 4th / 5th Streets & Wilson Street
ITEM! Free Valet Bike Parking!
* WHO
FREE to all denizens of delight, curiosity, and “Play-ticipation”
* WHY
Why, for a Splendid Celebration of Art, Science and Ingenuity for the Joy and Edification of all who attend, of course!
Last I heard, they have the ballast completed from the wye under the interchange of freeway 101 and freeway 37 to the interchange with the other railroads. They should be fully in Navato now.
MIJ: Final site of gravity car decided by council [Mill Valley] in the same plaza.
The wooden structure would be angled more so the front of the car faces the end of the plaza and shifted about four feet closer to a grove of redwood trees, according to City Manager Anne Montgomery.
Over in Napa, stimulus funds have shortened the building two new bridges for the wine train. One is a replacement for a trestle over the Napa river, which clogged up the river during storms, and the other for a new flood bypass channel.
Filed under: Marin, Napa Valley, Northwestern Pacific Railroad, Railroad, bicycle, trails, transit
MIJ: Cal Park Hill Tunnel opening will be delayed about six months
Planners hoped to open the old railroad tunnel and its adjacent approaches by the end of this year, or just after the New Year. While the tunnel is expected to be done by then, work on its north and south approaches will likely not be finished until next summer, officials said.
Until the approaches to the tunnel are finished, it can’t be used.
“There was a delay in easement acquisitions and encroachment permits from Caltrans,” said Craig Tackaberry, a county public works official helping oversee the project.
Part of the approach includes a mile of pathway to Andersen Drive in San Rafael that will be improved for bicyclists and pedestrians.
The $25.1 million project – split between state and county funds – also needs $800,000 in additional unanticipated work, primarily to help fill the gaps between the steel supports and the tunnel’s rock wall.
NVR: On track with a clean, efficient new locomotive
The American Canyon railroad company recently acquired the first of five “green” locomotives. The engine has the latest technology for fuel efficiency, generates little noise and is about 60 percent less polluting than a conventional locomotive engine.
Filed under: Marin, NCRA, Northwestern Pacific Railroad, Railroad, SMART, trails, transit
NA: Heavy trains right for SMART
The SMART board of directors made the correct decision on July 15 by voting 9-to-2 to chose to use “heavy” trains instead of “light” ones “ despite the opposition of two Novato SMART board members, Novato City Councilwoman Madeline Kellner and Marin County Supervisor Judy Arnold.
SRPD: Healdsburg launches $2.5 million depot trail plan
Work is expected to begin this fall to extend a key bike and pedestrian path in downtown Healdsburg to the old railroad depot in preparation for the day passenger trains roll again.
It’s the first phase in a $2.5 million project using transportation and redevelopment funds to create a walking and cycling path from the train station to the downtown, and also fix the boarded-up depot.
MIJ: Editorial: Practical train choice by the SMART board
THE Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District board decided not to take any chances when it comes to its trains.
The board, on a 7-2 vote, chose so-called “heavy” rail cars because they are less likely than “light” cars to cause costly delays.
SMART’s leaders are committed to having passenger service on its tracks by 2014. That’s the promise they made to voters who in November approved a quarter-cent increase in the sales tax to start rail service through our busy commute corridor.
The cars they selected are not “Iron Horse”-like trains. They are sleek, two-car trains designed to carry 150 passengers each.
MIJ: Dick Spotswood: SMART has a fine New Mexico model to follow
The pioneer opting for untested technology pays for boldness with higher costs, embarrassing delays and endless frustration. It’s a lesson that the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District needs to learn quickly.
I’ve been searching for a transit model that’s successfully addressed hurdles similar to those SMART now faces.
That endeavor brought me to beautiful Santa Fe, New Mexico’s capital. Admittedly the high desert scenery and vibrant art scene were part of my motivation, but I took the opportunity to check out the Land of Enchantment’s latest transportation initiative, the Rail Runner Express.
It’s a new system that provides a very sensible template for SMART.
MIJ: Marin Voice: ‘Light’ trains made more sense
JUDY ARNOLD and MADELINE KELLNER
WE ARE WRITING to discuss our recent vote on the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District board for the type of vehicles for which SMART will request proposals.
In discussion of the two types of rail vehicles, one is technically referred to as Federal Rail Authority (FRA) Compliant, meaning heavy DMUs. The lighter diesel or DMU trains are referred to as “Alternate Compliant,” meaning they need an FRA waiver to operate with freight.
We will use heavy and light for simplicity.
A recent IJ article summarized our vote in favor of the light DMUs as based on design. However, as this does not capture the primary concerns stated before the vote, we’d like to offer a recap:
As stated in the staff report to the board, the heavy DMUs emit five tons of additional greenhouse gases per day per vehicle. The consultant report equated the two car types because the heavier DMUs have higher passenger capacity. The calculation was changed to reflect emissions on a per seat basis. Our concern over this point was that this assumed all seats are always full on the larger car – and although no analysis was performed on this specific assumption, all agreed that is unlikely.
If you remove this assumption, we found the difference in pollution emitted each day, over a 15-20 year assumed life for the cars, to be compelling.
Staff also recommended the heavy DMUs because they require no federal waiver; freight can run on the same track without temporal separation.
We pointed out that there is now a precedent for the FRA approving waivers for light DMU’s in Riverline New Jersey, and Austin and Denton Texas, all of which have freight mixed with passenger service.
Project directors in Austin and Denton indicated that the waivers caused no project delay. They also stated that in reviewing the lighter DMU for safety, far from being considered less safe, the Crash Energy Management technology used for these cars was perceived by the FRA as “an enhancement” over current FRA-compliant standards.
Next, we were concerned about procurement risk. To date, no company in the U.S. or world is building or has more than a conceptual design of a heavy DMU. SMART’s staff report stated: “No FRA-compliant DMUs are currently in production … DMUs designed to FRA standards are not attractive transportation solutions in the world market. Typically DMUs built to FRA requirements are heavier and costlier … than alternate-compliant (light) designs.”
Although manufacturers were quick to answer “yes” to SMART’s queries about possibilities of the heavy DMUs, the fact is these responses were unburdened by any actual experience building FRA-compliant cars.
The SMART staff did a comparison on regulatory compliances, mechanical, operational, and environmental parameters, procurement factors, diesel-fuel consumption and emissions. Where there is a SMART preference, the advantage is shown for light DMUs. In particular, we were persuaded that noise, fuel consumption and emissions from the heavy DMU’s made the lighter DMUs a superior choice.
And we did feel that the lighter European style DMUs were aesthetically more compatible with Marin and Sonoma neighborhoods, schools and downtowns that they will pass through. With required “Positive Train Control” and technology that will evolve as high-speed rail is developed, the FRA has issued statements that its standards will evolve as well.
Our minority vote was based on believing that light DMUs are the future in the U.S.. We believe the commuters and the people and businesses that will be close to the tracks deserve the least polluting, quietest most human-scale train possible.
That said, the decision to go out for an RFP for heavy DMUs was made by a majority of the SMART board, and we will continue to work with the board and staff to ensure that the vehicle specified is the best it can be, and to close the gap in GHG emissions by focusing on ways to maximize ridership to make sure as many seats as possible are full on every trip.
Marin County Supervisor Judy Arnold and Novato City Councilwoman Madeline Kellner are members of the SMART board of directors.
Filed under: Marin, Northwestern Pacific Railroad, Railroad, SMART, Sonoma, transit
MICHAEL ALLEN and RUSS COLOMBO
Published: Sunday, July 19, 2009 at 4:00 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, July 17, 2009 at 3:27 p.m.As members of the Citizens Oversight Committee of the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District, we have had the opportunity over the past three months to become intimately familiar with the financial outlook for the SMART passenger train and pathway project.
What we found should not come as a surprise to anyone: The economic downturn that has affected governments and businesses and families throughout the world also has had an impact on SMART.
But while that impact is potentially significant in the future, it is neither as dire nor as imminent as some have portrayed it. In fact, for at least the short term, it should not affect the design and engineering work that SMART needs to be doing over the next two years. And, for now, it does not cause any changes in the project.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that without some changes in the economy and/or an infusion of support from the federal government, SMART will run into a funding gap in a couple of years when construction begins and large amounts of cash need to be raised through bonding.
It is frustrating for us to hear opponents of the project accuse SMART of “hiding” this gap, or of orchestrating a “charade” to keep it quiet. Our committee held eight meetings to discuss it – every one of them open to the public. The product of those meetings is the 2009 strategic plan that was adopted by the SMART Board of Directors on June 24, a public document required as part of last fall’s Measure Q. The plan is available at www.sonomamarintrain.org. SMART’s finances are an open book.
It’s important to remember, though, that we are only in the first chapter of this book. We know what the plot is: A bad economy poses difficulty to new rail and trail project. And we know the last chapter: A 70-mile passenger train and pathway offers new transportation options to North Bay. We’re just not how the chapters in between will be written.
A lot depends on conditions and events that are out of our control. What will happen to the economy and the lending markets in the next two years? If they both improve, the funding gap we’ve identified in the strategic plan will shrink. If, on the other hand, sales tax collections continue to fall and the bond markets continue to contract, all of us – SMART included – will find ourselves in even worse shape. It is only if nothing changes in the next couple of years (anyone want to bet on that scenario?) that SMART will run into the $155 million funding gap spelled out in the plan.
Regardless of what happens in the economy and the bond markets, the strategic plan directs SMART to spend these next years aggressively pursuing other funding sources to close the gap.
Because the state of California is suffering from many of the same impacts affecting SMART, much of that funding may need to come from the federal government. SMART is pursuing stimulus money, funds being made available in the new transportation bill, alternative transportation grants and other sources.
Based on the public’s desire to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the availability of public transportation and the new administration’s enthusiasm for expanded passenger rail, we believe this funding strategy can be productive.
We’re not telling you that SMART’s financial future is secure yet. We are telling you that it is way too early to predict how this story will unfold. There are a lot more chapters to come. And if you stick with this story, we think you’ll like how it turns out.
Michael Allen of Santa Rosa is chairman of the SMART Citizens Oversight Committee and Russ Colombo, a resident of Marin County, is president and CEO of the Bank of Marin and vice-chairman of the SMART oversight committee.
