Feds can inspect repairs to NWP rail lines without SMART’s okay

North Bay cargo trains may be closer to returning to the Northwestern Pacific Railroad now that a major obstacle has been removed, the Santa Rosa, Calif., Press Democrat reports. U.S. transportation regulators have ruled that the North Coast Railroad Authority doesn't need commuter rail's okay to reopen the freight line.

That means the Federal
Railroad Administration can now inspect repairs on a 62-mile stretch of track
between Napa County and Windsor. "It’s a significant step," NCRA
director Mitch Stogner said Monday.

But NCRA still needs a
joint operating agreement with Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit, the commuter
rail agency that owns the tracks.

NCRA hopes to begin freight
service on the segment early next year, Stogner said, which will provide a
lower-cost alternative for shippers and take truck traffic off Highway 101.

Federal regulators closed
the route in 2001 after storm damage made it unsafe for trains. NCRA is
spending $68 million to fix the southern end of the railroad. Last month it
said repairs were complete and ready to inspect. Tracks, bridges, signals and
crossings must pass inspection before federal officials lift their embargo.

But the plan hit a snag
when a Federal Railroad Administration official ruled SMART must join NCRA’s
petition to reopen the line.

SMART directors said last
month they wouldn’t support the request until the two agencies agree on joint
operating rules. SMART plans to start running commuter trains over a portion of
the railroad in 2014.

NCRA appealed the federal
ruling, and the railroad administration reversed its position last week. In a
letter Friday, the federal agency said SMART’s support isn’t needed for the
freight closure to be lifted. But NCRA still must resolve any disputes with
SMART before freight trains can operate, the agency said.

Negotiations over the
track-sharing agreement are snarled on various issues.

SMART officials haven’t
received last week’s letter and aren’t prepared to comment, spokesman Chris
Coursey said.

Negotiations over the
track-sharing agreement are snarled on various issues, but Stogner said NCRA
and SMART "have made significant headway" on the agreement since last
month. NCRA also must adopt an environmental study of the freight service and
tweak a lawsuit settlement with Novato, which sued over the trains in 2007, he
said