They didn't get the federal grant for the tunnel rehab. The railroad's CEO said that very few USDOT BUILD grants were given to blue states, which leads me to believe the grant was denied simply because California didn't vote for Trump in 2016. And we all know the relationship between California and the White House has been contentious, even moreso since Gavin took office.

But if they did get funding to repair Tunnel #1, EXCELLENT.

On a related note, the BUILD Grant application demonstrates that the CWR has big plans. In addition to reopening Tunnel #1, they also plan to upgrade and repair the line in preparation for commuter and freight service. I could see them running a daily commuter service using one of the Skunk railcars (maybe a locomotive-hauled passenger train if the demand is there), with one train up to Willits in the morning, returning in the evening, just like ACE. But I think this is all dependant on whether the NWP ever gets back to Willits, if they ever stop dragging their feet, identify what needs to be done to get the line reopened, and just DO IT. The new redevelopment plan would see the CWR serve a brewery, which could produce several carloads per year, maybe more if they need barley shipped in by rail. That is dependant on the reopening of both Tunnel #1 AND the NWP.

Commuter service on the CWR could be bolstered if SMART extends all the way to Willits. In my mind, if SMART does go through with this, they could run the DMUs on the higher-density Larkspur-Cloverdale route, as well as the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge route to the East Bay, and run trains from Suisun or Vallejo to Willits using Caltrain equipment as a sort of express service. Not only would this give the Caltrain F40s and gallery cars a new lease on life (though I've heard tell Metra wants the older Caltrain equipment, which makes sense since Metra uses pretty much the same locomotives and rolling stock), it would also be great for the CWR, having Mendocino County people be able to commute to the Bay Area (provided they can get the speeds right), or at the very least, providing an alternative to getting to Mendocino County besides driving and the Amtrak Throughway Motorcoach to Willits, which would be a great boon for tourism.

Just so many possibilities. Personally, I think the CWR should set aside some land at the mill site to use as a transload facility. The Strasburg has one, and it's done wonders for them.