On the same day a welcome party was thrown for the commuter rail service in Windsor, SMART announced it was beginning a campaign to renew the quarter-cent sales tax that funds the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit system “and secure the future of public transit in the North Bay,” according to a June 13 statement from the agency.
The initiative, which will appear on the 2026 ballot, does not raise taxes. Instead, it continues an existing source of funding that has powered SMART’s service and expanding network of rail and pathway connections for nearly two decades. That sales tax is scheduled to expire in 2028.
The transit system relies on a range of funding sources: state and federal grants, a portion of bridge and other tolls, and public bonds paid for by tax revenue. The taxes were first approved for a 30-year period in 2008 by Measure Q, but an attempt to renew them through Measure I in 2020 failed. This will mark another attempt to gain two-thirds public support to continue the modest tax for another 30 years, until 2059.
Without renewal, SMART’s current funding will expire, potentially forcing the service to reduce service if not shut down entirely by 2029.
Unwelcome Party
Another wrinkle in SMART’s ambitions came just days after a thousand-person-strong June 13 Windsor welcome party, as the town manager asked the transportation district to stop running early morning trains.
“This morning, based on a great deal of community sentiment, Town Council made a request to SMART to pause the early morning trains prior to 6:00 am until the quiet zones are implemented,” said Town Manager Jon Davis in an email on Wednesday, June 18. He said SMART readily agreed.
“It was better getting woken up at 6 as opposed to 4:30,” said Windsor resident Jenny Scott. She added that she had been taking video of the trains as they passed, and “all of the first three trains were empty every time I went out at 4:30.”
The affected routes are the three earliest departures from Windsor, headed south to Larkspur. Morning departure times scheduled at 4:35am, 4:58am and 5:30am have now been temporarily discontinued, as the first morning departure on weekdays is now 6:02am. Weekend departures are not affected—they begin at 7:12am, and that will not change.
“Common sense says that when you’re in a smaller town, you kind of scale back,” said rail neighbor Scott. “I think there should be like five trips a day, but I just think 42 is over the top.”
Quiet Zones
As noted, the schedule change is only effective until the “quiet zones”—intersections where the train will not be required to sound its horns—are implemented. That is currently anticipated for the end of July, but it is by no means a date certain.
Davis said the town had been discussing quiet zones with SMART for about a year, but at a meeting in May new tasks were presented that delayed the program’s implementation.
“The Town of Windsor is actively working with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). If the FRA approves quiet zones, then routine train horn use at designated crossings will be eliminated, except in emergency or safety-critical situations,” reads a statement on townofwindsor.ca.com.
“Until the Quiet Zone is in place, train horns will continue to sound between Shiloh Road and the Windsor station.”
How loud is it?
The distance from the Airport station to the Windsor station is just over three rail miles. But at Shiloh Road, nearly two miles south of the Windsor platform, residential communities have sprouted up on the west side of the tracks, such as near the Windsor Golf Course.
“There’s a crossing at Shiloh Road, and the train starts blaring its horn 1.5 miles before that crossing coming from Airport terminal,” one area resident told The Healdsburg Tribune. “Then it continues blaring its horn from Shiloh Road to Mitchell Lane crossing and then at the Town Green circle crossing. It is extremely loud, affecting hundreds of families,” she stated.
Under current federal rail requirements, according to the FRA website, “locomotive engineers are required to sound train horns at least 15 seconds and no more than 20 seconds before reaching a public highway-rail grade crossing.”
That agency also established a policy for a city, county or other “public entity responsible for traffic control or law enforcement” to establish quiet zones. Windsor is in the late stages of that process, and hopeful that the prohibition on train horns will be implemented as soon as July 22.
That agency requires train horns to be between 96 and 110 decibels when measured 100 feet in front of the engine. That sound level is louder than a car horn or blender, in a range usually occupied by power tools such as sanders, welders or chain saws.
However, the FRA states that even in a quiet zone, “it is important to note that horns may still be used in emergency situations or to comply with other Federal regulations and railroad operating rules. For example, the horn may be sounded to alert animals, vehicle operators, pedestrians, trespassers, or crews on other trains or due to other railroad operations where sounding the horn is a necessity.”
SMART trains also have bells sounded when crossing intersections, and that practice will continue.
Information about the Windsor SMART station, including Quiet Zone updates, can be found at townofwindsor.ca.gov/1533/Sonoma-Marin-Area-Rail-Transit-District.
I think it is sad that some Windsor residents have nothing better to complain about so they pick on our new train. Living close to airports or train stations can be frustrating but within a short time most people get used to the sounds. We are so lucky to have the train service! It is a great addition to our community. We love the sound of the train in our neighborhood.