As a tax payer and railroad manager I find it very hard to understand how after 50 million and more dollars being spent on the track and signals and bridge work that the NCRA has done they cannot start service. I know with 50 million the railroad should benn brouhgt up to class 1 and 2 FRA track. I have inspected the line in the past and the 50 million was more than enough money. I never want to see any track abandoned and taken up but at the same time the waste and
incompetence of the NCRA is appalling. Let the flame begin. see artilce below

SANTA ROSA (California) PRESS-DEMOCRAT
Return of Freight Railroad Delayed
By Steve Hart - The Press Democrat
Published: Wednesday, March 3, 2010 at 4:50 p.m.

Freight service on the Northwestern Pacific Railroad in Sonoma County has hit another snag, with more work needed before trains roll again on the 102-year-old line.
The railroad won’t be ready for cargo service until at least July, said Mitch Stogner, executive director for the North Coast Railroad Authority, the public agency that controls the route.
The 300-mile railroad was shut down in 2001 after storm damage made it unsafe for freight trains.
Since then, the rail authority has spent $50 million in state and federal transportation funds to reopen the southern end of the route.
Last October, the authority said repair work was substantially finished and train service could resume by the end of March on a 62-mile stretch of track between Napa County and Windsor.
The authority has a lease agreement with a private rail company, NWP Co., to provide cargo service.
On Wednesday, Stogner said there’s more work to be done, including replacement of signaling equipment at three railroad bridges over the Petaluma and Napa rivers. In addition, the authority must upgrade track in Novato under terms of a legal settlement.
Meanwhile, the authority is completing an environmental review of freight operations on the southern half of the line.
Service will start with three round trips per week, growing to three trips per day in the future.
The authority said freight trains will reduce truck traffic on Highway 101 and provide North Coast businesses with a lower-cost alternative for shipping. The Northwestern Pacific connects to the national rail system at a junction south of Napa.
At an authority meeting in December, representatives of the dairy and lumber industries said they favor the return of rail cargo service.
Several environmental groups have threatened legal action to stop the trains, arguing the rail authority hasn’t considered the impacts.
The Ukiah-based authority was created by state lawmakers in 1989 to preserve the railroad after former owner Southern Pacific Co. tried to abandon it.
Storm damage halted service on parts of the line in the late 1990s and it was mothballed for good in 2001.
The authority plans to extend freight service north to Willits by the end of 2012, but there’s no timeline for reopening the line to Eureka, where repair costs could exceed $500 million.
In the North Bay, freight trains would share track with Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART), which plans to start commuter rail service in 2014.
At an authority meeting in December, representatives of the dairy and lumber industries said they favor the return of rail cargo service.
Several environmental groups have threatened legal action to stop the trains, arguing the rail authority hasn’t considered the impacts.
The Ukiah-based authority was created by state lawmakers in 1989 to preserve the railroad after former owner Southern Pacific Co. tried to abandon it.
Storm damage halted service on parts of the line in the late 1990s and it was mothballed for good in 2001.
The authority plans to extend freight service north to Willits by the end of 2012, but there’s no timeline for reopening the line to Eureka, where repair costs could exceed $500 million.
In the North Bay, freight trains would share track with Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART), which plans to start commuter rail service in 2014.[b][/b]