Re: SMART to Ukiah?
Author: mook
Date: 06-17-2015 - 06:22
I'm pretty sure SMART owns the tracks as far as Cloverdale. Service beyond that isn't in anybody's wildest dreams right now; beyond Healdsburg is very unlikely; beyond Windsor iffy; ends at the Airport for the foreseeable future. Freight-only if NCRA ever re-opens the tracks beyond Cloverdale. And reopening would take substantial effort due to tunnel reconstruction needed.
Of course, if the tracks are ever re-opened to Ukiah, the question of passenger service will certainly come up. The main question is: why? The amount of likely traffic could easily be handled with a few buses along 101, which would be much less expensive to run. The central SMART line now under construction will have much more service, in a corridor with far more highway congestion, than would be the case for a run to Ukiah.