Novato Downtown station is a

train station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing suc ...

in Novato, California. It opened as an

infill station An infill station (sometimes in-fill station) is a train station built on an existing passenger rail, rapid transit, or light rail line to address demand in a location between existing stations. Such stations take advantage of existing train serv ...

for the

Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) is a rail line and bicycle-pedestrian pathway project in Sonoma and Marin counties of the U.S. state of California. When completed, the entire system will serve a corridor between Cloverdale in north ...

(SMART) service in December 2019. Prior to that, it was in operation from 1879 to 1958 by the

Northwestern Pacific Railroad The Northwestern Pacific Railroad is a regional shortline railroad utilizing a stretch of the 271 mile mainline between Schellville and Windsor with freight and Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) commuter trains. Formerly, it was a regi ...

History

The original Northwestern Pacific (NWP) depot was built out of redwood on the site in 1879; that building was moved nearby and a new one constructed in 1903. The second station was destroyed in a fire in 1916, and the current station building was built as its replacement. Increased automobile ownership and

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

construction led to a decline of rail travel in

Marin County Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is acros ...

, thus leading to disuse of the facility as a passenger terminal after November 10, 1958. Not part of the design for the original ten stations from SMART's Initial Opening Segment, funding and construction of the station was undertaken by the City of Novato. Station plans were finalized in 2016 and the platform was built at a cost of $2.4 million by the time trains began operation. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission provided $1.5 million toward finishing the station, leaving $1.6 million to be financed via an additional source or via the city's Hamilton Trust. By May 2018, the Phase 2 cost of construction had increased to $5.2 million. The SMART Board approved the station plan in July 2018. Station equipment was expected to be installed in the summer, and testing done in the fall. By September 2019, the total cost was over $7 million. Original plans called for the station to only have limited service due to its proximity to the Novato San Marin station. However, the SMART Board voted in June 2019 to instate regular, full-time service to the station; testing commenced on November 8, 2019. The station opened on December 14, 2019, for weekend and holiday service; weekday service began on January 1, 2020.

References

External links

Novato Downtown
, SMART
Downtown SMART Station
, City of Novato Railway stations in the United States opened in 2019 Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit stations in Marin County Railway stations in the United States opened in 1879 1879 establishments in California Novato, California 2019 establishments in California Former Northwestern Pacific Railroad stations Railway stations in the United States closed in 1958 {{MarinCountyCA-railstation-stub