SacRT light rail

SacRT light rail
CAF LRV in downtown Sacramento
Overview
Owner	Sacramento Regional Transit District
Locale	Sacramento, California
Transit type	Light rail
Number of lines	3
Number of stations	53[1]
Daily ridership	22,100 (weekdays, Q3 2024)[2]
Annual ridership	6,580,000 (2023)[3]
Website	sacrt.com
Operation
Began operation	March 12, 1987; 37 years ago (1987-03-12)[4]
Rolling stock	36 Siemens–Duewag U2 40 CAF S/200[4] 55 Siemens S700[5][6][7]
Train length	2 Cars. During Peak Hours, 3 or 4 Cars Mondays-Fridays Only Exclude Weekends and Holidays. [8][9]
Headway	15 min 30 min (late nights)[10]
Technical
System length	42.9 mi (69.0 km)[1]
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	Overhead line, 750 V DC
Top speed	55 mph (89 km/h)[1]
System map Show interactive map Show static map Watt/I-80 ■ Watt/I-80 West ■ Roseville Road ■ Marconi/Arcade ■ RT Facility Swanston ■ Royal Oaks ■ Arden/Del Paso ■ Globe ■ Dos Rios (planned) ■ 7th & Richards/ Township 9 Alkali Flat/ La Valentina ■ ■ Sacramento Valley 12th & I (✱) ■ ■■ 7th & I/8th & H (County Center) Cathedral Square (11th & K/10th & K) ■ ■■ 8th & K St. Rose of Lima Park (9th & K) ■ St. Rose of Lima Park (closed 2016) 7th│8th & Capitol ■■■ 8th & O ■■■ Archives Plaza ■■■ R Street Yard 13th Street ■■■ 16th Street ■■ ■ Broadway 23rd Street ■ ■ 4th Avenue 29th Street ■ ■ City College 39th Street ■ ■ Fruitridge 48th Street ■ ■ 47th Avenue 59th Street ■ ■ Florin University/65th Street ■ ■ Meadowview Power Inn ■ ■ Morrison Creek College Greens ■ ■ Franklin Watt/Manlove ■ ■ Center Parkway Starfire ■ ■ Cosumnes River College Tiber ■ Butterfield ■ Mather Field/Mills ■ Zinfandel ■ Cordova Town Center ■ Sunrise ■ Hazel ■ Iron Point ■ Glenn ■ Historic Folsom ■ Key Blue Line ■ Two services Gold Line ■ All services Green Line ■ Paid parking Free parking Bus connections All stops are accessible except 12th & I southbound = Flag stop This diagram: view talk edit Show route diagram

The SacRT light rail system serves the Sacramento, California area. It is operated by the Sacramento Regional Transit District (SacRT) and has 42.9 miles (69.0 km) of network comprising three main lines on standard gauge tracks, 53 stations, and a fleet of 121 vehicles. With an average of 22,100 weekday daily boardings as of the third quarter of 2024, the SacRT light rail system is the fifteenth busiest in the United States.

History

Origins

The Sacramento Regional Transit District (also known as simply SacRT) began planning for a light rail system in the mid-1980s, after the successful opening of the San Diego Trolley in 1981 and amid a surge in light rail construction in mid-sized cities nationwide (Buffalo, Denver, Portland, and San Jose also built systems at the same time).^[11]

Siemens U2A at Butterfield station, the eastern end of the line, on August 26, 1988.

The first line of the light rail system opened on March 12, 1987. Originally branded as RT Metro,^[12][13] the new line linked the northeastern and eastern corridors which both parallel Interstate 80 and Route 50 respectively with Downtown Sacramento.^[14] More specifically, the "starter line" ran between Watt/I-80 and Butterfield stations.^[15] The line from Butterfield to the Western Pacific line ran on the former Sacramento Valley Railroad. The right of way between Q and R Streets running from 10th to 17th Streets was a former Western Pacific Railroad branch.^[16] The line between downtown and Arden Way employed city streets, then turned on a former Western Pacific spur.^[17] At the Southern Pacific right of way, the line turned to parallel it for a few miles before transitioning into the median of Interstate 80.

As light rail ridership increased, RT continued to expand the light rail system. In 1993, two infill stations were added on the existing RT Metro line: 39th Street and 48th Street. In September 1998, the line was extended from Butterfield station to Mather Field/Mills station.

Sometime in the late 1990s, the RT Metro branding quietly fell into disuse. It is now simply known as the SacRT light rail system.

Expansion

In September 2003, Sacramento Regional Transit opened the first phase of the South Line (now called the Blue Line), which was a 6.3-mile (10.1 km) extension to South Sacramento. In June 2004, the Gold Line extended from the Mather Field/Mills station to Sunrise Boulevard, and on October 15, 2005, a 7.4-mile (11.9 km) extension from the Sunrise station to the city of Folsom was opened.^[18]

The Sacramento Valley light rail station opened on December 8, 2006.

In December 2006, the final leg of the Amtrak/Folsom project was extended by 0.7-mile (1.1 km), to the downtown Sacramento Valley Station, connecting light rail with Amtrak inter-city and Capitol Corridor services as well as local and commuter buses.^[19]

The system continued expanding in the next decade when RT completed the initial phase of the Green Line to 7th & Richards in 2012. The second phase of the line is planned to reach to the Sacramento International Airport.^[20] Later in August 2015, RT extended the Blue Line south to Cosumnes River College.^[21]

Sacramento RT Light Rail ridership peaked at 16.8 million rides in 2008 but has declined to 9.7 million rides in 2018, a drop of 42% during that period.^[22]

System

Lines

Sacramento's light rail system operates 42.9 miles (69.0 km) of light rail on three rail lines, serving 53 stations. It connects Downtown Sacramento with River District, North Sacramento, South Sacramento, East Sacramento, Rancho Cordova, and Folsom.

Line name	Stations	Termini
		Western/Northern	Eastern/Southern
Blue Line	28	Watt/I-80	Cosumnes River College
Gold Line	27	Sacramento Valley	Historic Folsom
Green Line	7	7th & Richards/Township 9	13th Street

Hours and frequency

Light rail service operates from as early as 4:00 am to as late as midnight. Blue and Gold Line trains operate daily with service every 15 minutes during the day and every 30 minutes during the early morning and late nights. However, Gold Line trains east of Sunrise station operate every 30 minutes all day.^[23] Green Line trains only operate on weekdays and run every 30 minutes throughout the day.^[24][25]

Stations

Main article: List of SacRT light rail stations

CAF S/200 light rail vehicle at St. Rose of Lima Park station

The 53 stations along the network are open-air structures featuring passenger canopies for protection from adverse weather. Twenty-six stations offer bus transfer services and 22 have park-and-ride lots with a total of 10,113 available parking spaces.^[1]

The busiest stations in the system by average daily boardings/alightings are: 16th Street (6,800), University/65th (3,000), Cosumnes River College (2,900), and 29th Street (2,900).^[26]

Works of public art included at several stations were developed as part of the RT Public Art Program, and represent an array of media including, mosaics, sculptures, metalwork and murals. Each was commissioned to incorporate an identity and sense of place unique to the neighborhood surrounding the station.^[27]

Rolling stock

A two car CAF LRV heading south on 12th St. in downtown Sacramento.

The LRV fleet is composed of cars from two different builders: 36 from Siemens–Duewag U2A, some of which have been in use since the RT opened, 40 S/200 units delivered in 2003 from Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF), and up to 76 Siemens S700 units which began entering service in 2024 that will eventually replace all former Siemens-Duewag / CAF LRVs if funding is secured for the entire contract option. Sacramento RT plans to retire the U2A fleet starting on September 1, 2024 as a fleet of Siemens S700 low-floor light rail vehicles enter service.^[7] The agency has ordered 55 S700 LRVs, and has options to purchase up to 76 if additional funding is secured.^{[28][29][30][31]}

Numbers	Qty	Built	Manufacturer	Model	Notes
35	1	1912	American Car Company	California car	Restored historic electric streetcar, used for special events
101‍–‍126	26	1985‍–‍1986	Siemens–Duewag	U2A	To be withdrawn from operation starting by the summer of 2024
127‍–‍136	10	1990‍–‍1991
201‍–‍240	40	2002‍–‍2003	CAF	S/200
301-320	20	1985‍–‍1987	Urban Transportation Development Corporation	ALRV	Ex-VTA. Acquired in 2015, retired in 2022.
401-455	55	2022‍–‍2025+	Siemens	S700	Began service on September 1, 2024.[5][6][7][32][33]

Former rolling stock

RT previously operated 20 Urban Transportation Development Corporation (UTDC) ALRV cars. These LRVs were built between 1985 and 1987 for the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). After being withdrawn from use by VTA, they were purchased by RT and refurbished by Siemens in 2015.^[4][34] In RT service, they carried fleet numbers 301 through 320. They were withdrawn from use in 2022 as "despite the extensive refurbishment and several ongoing maintenance contracts, the UTDC LRVs have failed to operate consistently in revenue service."^[35]

System projects

Low-floor modernization project

Siemens S700 LRV testing at Franklin station

Sacramento Light Rail system is over 30 years old, and its existing train cars and stations are aging. SacRT is currently modernizing the system, including new trains, station platforms, and increased services. The construction work will continue for five years until 2027. RT recently bought 55 new low-floor Siemens vehicles, that allow passengers to directly enter trains at nearly floor level instead of walking up stairs.^[36] Those new trains recently started a rigorous three-step testing process in early 2023.^[37][38]

The system's station platforms on the Blue and Gold Lines are currently being raised to eight inches (20 cm) above the top of the rail to allow a small bridge plate (on the new trains) to be used to load passengers who require it. However, the five stations constructed after 2006 were already designed for low-floor vehicles and will not require modification. As of November 2023, those new trains will go into service in the summer of 2024. RT raises platforms in two phases, with half (two car lengths) of a platform (generally four car lengths) taken out of service during construction.^[5]

Another component of the project will improve service to four stations in the Folsom area, which are currently the only ones with 30-minute service intervals during the day. To increase frequency to every 15 minutes, a second track will be added between Park Shore Drive and Bidwell Street to allow more trains to pass through in both directions. Since the second track passes through Glenn station, a new second platform will be built there. Construction began on January 2, 2024.^[39]

On October 24, SacRT announced they received another round of funding for 10 additional S700 LRVs to their existing order of 45 out of the contract option of up to 76 units. In addition, "SacRT is converting 17 of the 19 light rail stations along the Blue Line to accommodate the height requirement of the new low-floor light rail vehicles, making the system more accessible by eliminating the need to climb stairs to board the vehicles. With this funding, SacRT now has enough money to complete the conversion at all stations."^[40]

Green Line to Sacramento International Airport

Proposed extension

The Green Line extension to Sacramento International Airport will extend service 12 miles (19.3 km) to the airport via the Natomas neighborhood.^[20][41] The line would extend northwest from the existing Green Line terminus at the 7th & Richards / Township 9 station. The plan to extend light rail to the airport has been in the works since early 1990s and is the project most requested by residents of the Sacramento region.^[42] The agency has completed preparing the draft environmental impact report for the project.^[43]

The project, estimated at nearly $1 billion, would be the costliest in RT's history and securing funding has been a challenge.^[42] Transportation officials most recently proposed funding the project with a half-cent sales tax increase in Sacramento County, but the measure was narrowly defeated in November 2016.

Downtown Riverfront Streetcar

Main article: Sacramento Streetcar

While originally under the jurisdiction of a separate agency, RT is also planning the Downtown Riverfront Streetcar project to expand service to West Sacramento. The new streetcar route would run on a short 1.5-mile (2.4 km) segment to West Sacramento across the Tower Bridge. The project, while branded as a streetcar service, would share a portion of the light rail tracks to connect to Sacramento Valley Station and is planned to use the same Siemens S700 vehicles as the light rail service.^[44]

See also

• Transportation in the Sacramento metropolitan area

References

1. "RT Fact Sheet" (PDF). Sacramento Regional Transit District. June 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 24, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
2. "Transit Ridership Report Third Quarter 2024" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. November 20, 2024. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
3. "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2023" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. March 4, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
4. "Sacramento Regional Transit Light Rail Fact Sheet" (PDF). Sacramento Regional Transit. February 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 25, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2007.
5. "Light Rail Modernization Project ‍–‍ Sacramento Regional Transit District". Archived from the original on July 16, 2022. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
6. https://www.sacrt.com/apps/sacrt-orders-nine-additional-low-floor-light-rail-vehicles/ ^{[bare URL]}
7. "SacRT to Rollout New Low-Floor Light Rail Vehicles September 1, 2024 – Sacramento Regional Transit District". Retrieved September 1, 2024.
8. "SacRT Question and Answer Session".
9. "LRFactSheet – Sacramento Regional Transit District". Archived from the original on March 29, 2024.
10. "SacRT Routes – Sacramento Regional Transit District".
11. Minister, R. David; Clarke, David J. (March 30, 1982). "Factors to Consider in Designing a Joint Bus-Light Rail Transit Mall" (PDF). Transportation Research Board.
12. "Connections: Sacramento Light Rail & Bus Schedules". The Sacramento Bee. March 22, 1987. p. 2.
13. "RT Metro Light Rail Timetable". Sacramento Regional Transit District. March 16, 1987.
14. "SacRT History". www.sacrt.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2019. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
15. "Light Rail map". Sacramento Regional Transit District. October 13, 1999. Archived from the original on October 13, 1999. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
16. Depster, Doug (October 19, 1983). "Light-Rail Delays Could Raise Costs". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento Bee. p. 19. Retrieved October 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
17. Dempster, Doug (December 28, 1982). "New Light-Rail Controversy". The Sacramento Bee. p. 12. Archived from the original on November 27, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
18. Sacramento Regional Transit. "Folsom Line" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on March 29, 2024. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
19. Sacramento Regional Transit. "Folsom Amtrak" (PDF). Retrieved November 25, 2023.
20. "Home". Green Line 2 Airport. Archived from the original on May 13, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
21. "RT Celebrates Grand Opening of Blue Line to Cosumnes River College Light Rail Extension". Sacramento Regional Transit District (Press release). August 22, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
22. "Sacramento Regional Transit District (Sacramento RT)". National Transit Database. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
23. "507 - GOLD LINE Train". www.sacrt.com. Archived from the original on November 26, 2023. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
24. "Services – Sacramento Regional Transit District". Sacramento Regional Transit District. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
25. "SacRT System Fact Sheet" (PDF). Sacramento Regional Transit District. July 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 5, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
26. "SacRT System Fact Sheet" (PDF). Sacramento Regional Transit District. July 2021. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
27. "Art on Track – Station Art Along Light Rail" (PDF). Sacramento Regional Transit District. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 3, 2010. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
28. "SacRT Purchases New Low-Floor Light Rail Vehicles" (Press release). Sacramento Regional Transit. April 22, 2020. Archived from the original on April 26, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
29. Arrington, Debbie (July 6, 2020). "SacRT trains to get low-profile upgrade: Sacramento-built light rail vehicles part of system-wide modernization". Chico News & Review Spotlight. Archived from the original on August 13, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
30. "Sacramento Regional Transit adds to order for Siemens light rail equipment". Trains.com. October 10, 2023. Archived from the original on October 24, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
31. "SacRT Receives $29 Million in Grant Funding to Advance Key Transit Projects in Sacramento Region". Sacramento Regional Transit. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
32. https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2024/10/24/sacrt-grant-siemens-trains.html?cx_testId=40&cx_testVariant=cx_39&cx_artPos=8#cxrecs_s
33. "$29M in Grant Funds Going to SacRT to Advance Key Transit Projects – Folsom Times". October 24, 2024.
34. "Siemens-refurbished light rail vehicles to begin operating on new Sacramento Regional Transit line". Siemens USA (Press release). September 8, 2015. Archived from the original on November 4, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
35. Alba, Carmen. "APPROVING THE SALE OF 3 SURPLUS URBAN TRANSPORTATION DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION LIGHT RAIL VEHICLES TO THE U.S DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION" (PDF). Sacrt.com. Sacramento Regional Transit. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
36. "SacRT Awarded $45 Million by FTA for New Light Rail Vehicles – Sacramento Regional Transit District".
37. "Light Rail Modernization: New Low-Floor Light Rail Vehicles – Sacramento Regional Transit District". Archived from the original on November 10, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
38. "SacRT Receives $29 Million in Grant Funding to Advance Key Transit Projects in Sacramento Region". Sacramento Regional Transit. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
39. "Construction Begins in January 2024 for Folsom 15-Minute Light Service Project – Sacramento Regional Transit District". Archived from the original on April 30, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
40. "SacRT Receives $29 Million in Grant Funding to Advance Key Transit Projects in Sacramento Region". Sacramento Regional Transit. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
41. "Sacramento RT website: "Green Line to the Airport"". Archived from the original on May 27, 2012.
42. Bizjak, Tony (January 7, 2015). "When will Sacramento get light rail to the airport? Not soon". The Sacramento Bee. ISSN 0890-5738. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
43. "SacRT Initiatives". October 15, 2019. Archived from the original on January 15, 2022. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
44. "Sacramento Downtown Riverfront Streetcar Project". Sacramento Regional Transit. April 24, 2022. Retrieved May 15, 2024.

External links

Template:Attached KML/SacRT light rail

KML is not from Wikidata

• Official website