A rail station previously served Cloverdale along the original Northwestern Pacific Railroad, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 as Cloverdale Railroad Station. Train service began in 1872; the station was 82.5 by 32.3 feet (25.1 m × 9.8 m) in plan, of a "never numerous" but important rural railroad station type.[3] That station, however, was destroyed in a fire in 1991.[4] The rail line was rerouted to its current right of way to make room for U.S. Route 101 and the current station was built in 1998 with the anticipation of future rail service.[5]
The depot must legally serve as the northern terminus of the Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit main line.[citation needed] It is expected open to passenger trains after further phases of construction. The 2018 California State Rail Plan called for the station to see SMART service by 2027.[6]
