Feds OK return of freight trains in North Bay

Federal rail regulators Thursday lifted a 10-year embargo on freight traffic over the Northwestern Pacific Railroad in Sonoma, Napa and Marin counties, setting the stage for a return of cargo trains later this year.

The Federal Railroad Administration said the rail line south of Windsor meets U.S. safety standards following a $68 million repair project.

"FRA's decision is great news," said Hal Wagenet, chairman of the North Coast Railroad Authority, the public agency responsible for cargo service. "It makes it possible to re-start train service from Napa to Windsor by mid-June."

NCRA has contracted with a private operator, NWP Co., to provide the freight service. The company's president, John Williams, said Thursday his crews are training for a possible start next month.

Under his plan, service would begin with three round trips a week between Windsor and a rail junction south of Napa where NWP connects to the national rail system. Initially, customers will use the rail line to ship grain, lumber, aggregate and other commodities, Williams said.

"They're already using rail," he said.

NCRA officials said the service will provide a lower-cost alternative for shippers and take trucks off Highway 101. Trains would travel through the cities of Novato, Petaluma, Cotati, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa and Windsor.

But there are still several hurdles to overcome before trains roll again. NCRA needs to finalize a joint operating agreement with Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit, the commuter rail agency that owns the tracks south of Healdsburg.

NCRA also must adopt an environmental report on the project and a final agreement with Novato, which sued the authority in 2007. Those issues could be settled by mid-June, said Mitch Stogner, NCRA's executive director.

But environmentalists have threatened to sue NCRA, alleging the agency hasn't considered all environmental impacts.

NCRA has authority for cargo service over the historic 300-mile train route from Napa County to Eureka. The Northwestern Pacific was created by Southern Pacific and Santa Fe in 1907 and completed in 1914.

Over the years, the route has been plagued by floods, fires and earthquakes that stopped traffic for months at a time. NCRA was created by state lawmakers in 1989 to preserve the line after Southern Pacific tried to abandon it.

Federal regulators stopped freight traffic on the railroad in 1998 after storm damage made it unsafe. Service briefly resumed on a southern segment in 2001 but was halted later the same year.

Since then, NCRA has spent millions in state and federal transportation funds to repair the 62-mile stretch between Napa County and Windsor. Repair work was stopped in 2007 and 2008 by Novato's lawsuit, but it was completed late last year.

NCRA repaired more than 100 crossings and bridges, fixed levees and replaced 50,000 crossties.

Federal regulators inspected the route in January and have determined it meets safety rules, according to FRA's announcement Thursday. The segment "may open immediately to rail traffic," said Joseph Szabo, FRA administrator.

The embargo remains in effect north of Windsor.