The lines formed dozens long, people queued up for free t-shirts, free hats, free route maps—and it was hard to tell which was the most popular giveaway.
The occasion, the official arrival of SMART to its new station in Windsor, was met by well over 1000 residents, neighbors and on-stage engineers and politicians who helped bring Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit service to what is now its northern terminus, the Town of Windsor.
The fact that it was Friday the 13th went unmentioned, the superstition lost in the glow of pride and satisfaction that the rail’s arrival released. For the 1,000-plus estimated people in attendance, the most important date on the calendar was the day that SMART arrived in Windsor. The first train pulled into the station on Saturday, May 31, though the robust welcome celebration was held last week. (A schedule change was announced after the June 13 event; see this related news story.)
The official greeting party, seated on the station platform to face the audience of Windsor locals and other train-curious attendees, was picked to include those who most helped to make the commuter train’s arrival possible—county supervisors, city council men and women, and state legislators and officers, including SMART’s executive director, Eddy Cumins…