If you watch our railroad tracks lately you will see a lot of people working on the railroad. Straightening tracks, fixing crossings and repairing train stations.
When I was a kid there was a railroad. Trains had cars full of wood, grain and commercial items. When we went to Sacramento though, we always took Greyhound not a train. This line doesn't connect to anything and when commercial industries couldn't support it and wood was not shipped from up north, it was abandoned.
My questions, is why are we working on a railroad that will cost a lot of money, create traffic congestion in our cities, sound whistle at every out of date crossing and go to the marvelous town of Larkspur were you can only transfer on a ferry which only goes to downtown San Francisco (which is no longer the hub of the Bay Area)?

Anyone taken a family on the Ferry from Vallejo? Just to pier 39. Sixty bucks for around trip for an adult! Wife and kids! HA! HA! That would be one tank of Diesel right now for me! Over 500 miles!

The tracks do go somewhere! They go East, you can go to the East Coast from here. Yes from here! They go to Novato pass Costco turn left toward I80. South of Napa!

I was wrong on the price to pier 39 from Vallejo! 30 dollars round trip! A family of four 75 bucks! If Under 12 years 7.50 over age of 12 pay adult price! This is cheap! HAY! It mass transit. Not familt friendly travel.

At first glance, I thought $60 seemed too high. It is, but not by much. Baylink, which runs the Vallejo Ferry, charges $15 one way which, is really a deterrant to ever using it. The argument mreiman tries to make doesn't apply to the Golden Gate Ferry and SMART.

First, GG Ferry, from Larkspur is $7.10 on way, but if you buy the freuqnet rider booklet of tickets, it's $3.80 per leg. Secondly, the SMART rail would service incorporated cities with a rought population of 350,000. That does not include towns like Guerneville, Geyserville, Kenwood, etc.

Of course, the actual ridership isn't the entire population and that not all riders will use it to get to the ferry. One possible plan of action the GG Transit District could pursue is reducing bus service to Sonoma County by 50% essentially forcing riders to take the train and then the ferry. It would also save the district money.

That being said, I think that greater analysis of ALL options and facts must occur before service is started. Also, an analytical and discrimating mind must think about all facets of a project like this before saying it's a "waste of money" and "no one will take it".

We MUST think globally, locally, environmentally, and do it now! We cannot sustain our fuel sources forever and we are intelligent enough to begin development and implementation of other solutions. Afterall, many other countries rely almost solely on rail transportation and find it to be on time and efficient. Only the ignorant see a problem and continue blindly along without effort to make change. Yes, I know - we don't like change but in the end, we and the future will benefit. Until you have polled ALL people in three counties, I would caution you from saying "no one will use the rail or like it." We would ride it to work in Peteluma every day. Let's think smart and act differently for the future. Sincerely yours in nature

Using SMART train wouldn't be too bad. You just catch a bus (or bike, taxi, feet, or ask someone to take you) to the train station. Then you wait 10 or 20 minutes for the train. (Trains will run every half hour.) Then you get off in Larkspur, walk a little way to the terminal, wait a little while for the fairy, and go to SF. Then you ride BART(do they have BART there?), MUNI, or your bike, feet, or a cab to your destination.

Truly, the DUMB train would be a quick, convenient, and relaxing form of transportation. Oh, and all your friends will think you're green and good for the environment. And politicians will be able to boast about the accomplishment so they can put it on their resumes and get elected to higher positions from which they can spend even more of your money on look-good "solutions" to our problems.

See, that is the rub for me. When you ride Bart, Golden Gate Transit or the ferry, your ticket price is just a small part of the budget for the system. Most fees are from property taxes, sales taxes or bridge tolls. When it comes to energy savings, it only effects people on the system. If you are not on the system it takes multiple transfers and a lot of time Most people don't think it is practical.
A system like Muni in San Francisco is different. Although there are many people who complain about pickup times, you can live in the City and never own a car. Now that works.

It gets really old to be called "ignorant" because one don't see the utility of a proposed train with extremely limited functionality.

What's "ignorant" is blindly supporting the green mantra that "trains are good" for the environment without a critical eye weighing the costs vs the benefits.

When I described the SMART train proposal to friends visiting from Europe, they were amazed that someone would propose such a folly and asked why we were not being connected to BART.

A BART connection to the entire Bay Area would be a much better plan which would serve many more riders.

Show me a proposal that connects us to the entire Bay Area efficiently and I'll be the first in line to support it. Unfortunately, SMART is just another political fiefdom that obstructs true long term public transit interests.

BART will never get approved in Marin, and I'm not sure I would want it here - Have you seen the growth in the East Bay along the BART lines!? On the other hand, a trolly like the one in Sacramento might make sense. Most of the 101 traffic is not going to San Francisco, but to other towns in Sonoma and Marin. There will be growth in Sonoma County, and if we could concentrate in the cores of the existing towns, that might be a good thing.

Trains are great. That is why people use BART. We are a commuter family and can't trust the people in charge to contain costs...we would never use the SMART rail. Another developer ploy backed by their bought politicians. Work with BART or move on.