Ruling against Great Redwood Trail Agency sparks renewed hopes for return of rail service from Cloverdale to Willits
- Friends of Smart
- 3 days ago
- 1 min read
By AUSTIN MURPHY | austin.murphy@pressdemocrat.com | The Press Democrat
A minor legal defeat suffered by the Great Redwood Trail Agency is being hailed as a major cause for celebration among some North Bay railroad enthusiasts.
A February ruling by Surface Transportation Board, an obscure but powerful federal agency tasked with regulating the nation’s freight rail network, has, in an indirect way, breathed new life into train buffs’ hopes for a return, someday, of rail service to communities along the Highway 101 corridor from Cloverdale to Willits.
The ruling is the upshot of a legal move that began two years ago when the public agency spearheading the planning and construction of most of the 320-mile Great Redwood Trail between San Francisco and Humboldt bays filed a petition with the Surface Transportation Board. The filing related to a different section of North Coast railroad — the Mendocino Railway line, popularly known as the Skunk Train, which runs 40 miles west to east, from Fort Bragg to Willits.
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