Freight Train Step Toward Energy Efficiency, Reduced Traffic, Supporters Say

A freight train carrying everything from construction materials to wine to animal feed for local dairies could be coming through Petaluma by next month, alleviating traffic congestion on Highway 101 and reclaiming some of the town’s railroad history.

After completing repair work on the track that stretches from Windsor to Napa following massive storms in 1998, the North Coast Railroad Authority is expecting to begin service by middle of April.

“We determined that it was important to take advantage of this rail corridor because it’s the only parallel alternative to Highway 101,” said Mitch Stogner, executive director of NCRA, which formed in 1989 and uses state and federal funds to repair railroad infrastructure.

“Trains are good for the local economy, good for the environment and good energy policy,” Stogner said.

But don’t expect the trains to be running day and night. For the first year, trains will only make three roundtrips a week. After so-called “quiet zones” are installed, designated areas at crossings that will have added security measures such as concrete barriers that prevent drivers from driving around the gates, trains could increase to two roundtrips a day.

Another issue that needs to be ironed out is a new operating agreement with SMART, which will share part of the track with the freight train--from Ignacio to Windsor when begins operating in 2014. Then, there’s the Environmental Impact Report, which NCRA hopes to finalize at its April 13 meeting.

There are eight railroad crossings in Petaluma, including East Washington Street west of Lakeville, East D Street west of Lakeville, which have tracks going right through the intersection, said Curt Bates, an engineer with the city of Petaluma.

"We’ve been working with NCRA to make the crossings safe...coordinating traffic signal timing with track timing, when train comes," Bates said.

When the train does pass through town, it will be traveling at 25-40 miles an hour, with an average waiting time at crossings of no more than two minutes, Stogner said.

Local residents have so far been supportive, even if it means hearing the clank of train cars on rails and whistles.

"We're strongly in favor of alternative transport and reviving the rails," said Christina Kauk, who owns , located near one of the crossings. "Any step we can take in that direction is a good thing."

Ferrying supplies to the region by train won't just reduce highway traffic, but also reduce costs for local industries who have been impacted by rising fuel prices.

"We have a lot of industries  that depend on these deliveries,” said David Keller, a former city council member and environmental activist. “Doing so by truck is much more expensive. Dairy businesses, construction and others took a big hit when they couldn’t get it delivered by freight.”

The railroad was operating until 1998, when storms damaged significant portions of the track, Stogner said.

In a draft environmental report, concerns were raised about noise and air pollution, safety, loss of habitat for wildlife, disrupting sensitive breeding areas for animals, pollution of waterways, loss of grasslands and wetlands and soil erosion.

But Stogner said that railroads were key to environmental conservation because they are so efficient. For example, one freight car will remove four big rigs from local roadways and one gallon of diesel will move a ton of freight over 400 miles.

The track is 62 miles long and snakes from Windsor, through Rohnert Park, Petaluma and Novato, before veering east to Napa where it interchanges with the California Northern Railroad before connecting with the  Union Pacific in Suisun.