HEALDSBURG – Senate President pro Tempore Mike McGuire (D-North Coast) has been advocating for over a year to secure major funding to move the SMART Train north into Healdsburg. Today, that work paid off with a massive $81 million investment by the State of California that will expand the passenger rail service to Healdsburg. The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) train’s expansion will also include bicycle and pedestrian path extensions alongside the tracks for the Great Redwood Trail, which will eventually span 320 miles from Marin to the Humboldt Bay.

“The SMART Train is heading north, and will soon be pulling into Healdsburg! This is such a huge victory for the residents of northern Sonoma County and builds off the State’s $40 million investment that is now being utilized to connect the Sonoma County Airport with the Town of Windsor,” Pro Tem McGuire said. “I’m grateful to Governor Newsom, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Sonoma County Transportation Authority, our federal partners, and the dynamic team at SMART, who are always putting in the hard work to keep the trains running on time. We can’t wait to get the shovels in the ground and move SMART full steam ahead into Healdsburg!”

Breaking ground next year, the Windsor to Healdsburg line will reconstruct a 5.5-mile segment from Windsor to the Healdsburg Depot, and continue north another 3.3-miles to the northern city limits of Healdsburg.

This week’s funding announcement comes after a decade of tireless effort to secure funding to expand SMART, including McGuire’s 2022 legislation that designated SMART’s track as a state supported intermodal passenger service corridor.

This latest SMART expansion will benefit not only Healdsburg commuters and residents, but also cyclists and pedestrians by completing major segments of the Great Redwood Trail.

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Mike McGuire is President pro Tempore of the California Senate. He represents the North Coast of California, which stretches from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border, including Del Norte, Trinity, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Sonoma, and Marin Counties. Website of Senate Leader McGuire: https://sd02.senate.ca.gov/