The North Coast Rail Authority on Wednesday took another step toward resurrecting freight service in Napa, Sonoma, Marin and Mendocino counties by releasing a final environmental impact report.
Certification of the report, expected in early June, is one of three final steps required before rail service resumes on 62miles of track between Windsor and Lombard in Napa County, which is the connection point to the national rail system.
"Mid-June is still our target," said Mitch Stogner, NCRA's executive director.
Once the trains are running as far north as Windsor, NCRA will be able to focus on Windsor-to-Willits service, he said.
That section continues to be under a federal rail safety embargo, a designation that was lifted last week for the southern segment after more than 10 years and the expenditure of more than $68 million on repairs.
The tracks were severely damaged by floods in 1998.
The future of the more devastated and slide-prone tracks through the Eel River Canyon between Willits and Eureka is questionable.
In addition to certifying the EIR, NCRA must complete a joint operating agreement with Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit, which owns the tracks south of Healdsburg, and adopt a final agreement with Novato, which sued the authority in 2007 over environmental concerns. Both agreements are expected to be finalized next month, Stogner said.
The railroad operator, North West Pacific Railroad Co., is ready to start service and has a list of freight customers ready to switch from trucks to trains to reduce shipping costs, said Doug Bosco, general counsel for NWP.
Potential customers include dairy farmers who buy their feed from the Midwest, wine producers and builders, Bosco said.
"We have shippers who are literally knocking on the door every day," he said.
UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: