Napa Valley Wine Train is considering adding a commuter car to one of its regular trains between Napa and St. Helena, Calif., according to the Napa Valley Register. The service would add 70 to 80 passengers per railcar, all employees of tourism-related businesses, to a locomotive for a single round trip each weekday north from Napa to jobs in St. Helena and back again. Five former Southern Pacific passenger train cars the Wine Train purchased in 2016 are in storage, and can be refurbished for the commuting pilot at a cost of about $250,000 per car. Wineries and restaurants taking part in the program would lease seats for at least six months. Caltrans has estimated daily traffic counts on Highway 29, the valley’s transportation spine, range from 25,000 vehicles to as many as 68,000 on its four-lane freeway stretch through Napa.

—Passenger Train Journal