There has been no freight rail service to Willits since November 1998, and is not likely to be re-established. There are innumerable washouts, landslides, collapsed tunnels, and the like on the line. Many hundreds of millions of dollars will be required to rebuild the line and then keep it in operation.

A couple years ago the California legislature passed and the governor signed an act that will dissolve North Coast Railroad Authority. The line north of Willits would be converted to a trail, the efforts to start that process are presently under way in front of the Surface Transportation Board. The legislation calls for the line from Willits south the be conveyed to SMART, that to my knowledge has not yet happened. SMART has plans to get their service eventually extended to Cloverdale, but that is a long ways out. I have not seen or heard of any concrete or realistic plans to reopen the line north of there.

If you are serious about what you say about developing freight business out of Willits, trucks to a reload somewhere else is your only option and will be for many years to come.

Jeff Moore
Elko, NV