I don't get all this noise about a train to nowhere! In the 20's, 30's and 40's one could take the NWP from Fairfax to SFO via the Sausalito Ferry and get there in about 50 minutes. Today, a comute to SFO along the same route is about two hours in rush hour traffic.
Many years ago there was a huge debate where to site the current Golden Gate Ferry Terminal. I along with many others including then supervisor Peter Arogoni supported the Terminal to be located at its present site so as to utilize the existing tracks of the then NWP to link to the ferry. No different than what was done years earlier with the Sausalito Ferry.

Currently, many Sonoma county residents work in the San Rafael area, so between those comuters and folks going to SFO I see no reason to consider the SMART system a train to nowhere. Further, if a investor is willing to put up his own funding to run a shortline freight railroad I would think that folks would support the idea I would guess that when the systems are up and running plenty of these posters will be posting pictures of rolling stock along the ROW

Further, if anyone is familiar with the numerous studies in the 80's called the "101 transit corridor" which was chaired by the way of a Novato Supervisor, they will find even then that a comute train from Sonoma was considered a most viable and feasiable way to alleviate the then existing traffic problem