How SMART are we?
Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART)
Consider this, the SMART project covers about 43 miles and will come in at around $453M ($10.5M/Mile): http://main.sonomamarintrain.
Compare that with 10 miles of BART in Santa Clara County for $3.5B ($350M/mile).
It makes me wonder how SMART we really are…
SMART update: “Probably more than a few who were stuck bumper-to-bumper in the Novato Narrows Tuesday looked upon the train with longing as it rocketed by”:
http://www.masstransitmag.com/news/12135653/test-runs-reach-79-mph-as-smart-gears-up-train-for-commuter-service
SMART gets funding for additional railcars: http://www.marinij.com/general-news/20160321/marin-commuter-rail-gets-state-grant-for-more-cars
“The new 10-mile line represents a big change in BART technology. The Antioch extension uses diesel-powered cars that look more like streetcars on steroids. They are lower to the ground than BART cars and operate on standard-gauge railroad track, not on BART’s wider track.”
“The diesel system saves BART about half of what it would have cost to extend its existing electric-powered line. BART directors, once bitten and twice shy with the problems of their fleet of 44-year-old, once-revolutionary cars, elected to buy off-the-shelf transit cars from the Stadler company of Switzerland that have been used in many European and U.S. systems and have a proven track record.”
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/BART-welcomes-a-new-kind-of-train-8335188.php