Sacramento RT Light Rail
Siemens U2A in downtown Sacramento
Siemens U2A in downtown Sacramento
Overview
OwnerSacramento Regional Transit District
LocaleSacramento, California
Transit typeLight rail
Number of lines3
Number of stations53[1]
Daily ridership21,000 (weekdays, Q3 2023)[2]
Annual ridership4,058,100 (2022)[3]
Websitesacrt.com
Operation
Began operationMarch 12, 1987 (1987-03-12)[4]
Rolling stock
Headway
  • 15 min (weekdays)
  • 30 min (evenings/weekends)
Technical
System length42.9 mi (69.0 km)[1]
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
ElectrificationOverhead line, 750 V DC
Top speed55 mph (89 km/h)[1]
System map
Bus interchange
Watt/I-80
Watt/I-80 West
Bus interchange
Roseville Road
Bus interchange
Marconi/Arcade
RT Facility
Swanston
Bus interchange
Royal Oaks
Bus interchange
Arden/Del Paso
Bus interchange
Globe
Dos Rios
(planned)
7th & Richards/
Township 9
Bus interchange
Bus interchange
Alkali Flat/La Valentina
Sacramento Valley
Bus interchange
12th & I
(✱)
7th & I/8th & H (
County
Center
)
Cathedral
Square
(
11th & K
10th & K
)
8th & K
9th & K
(closed 2016)
7th & K
Bus interchange
7th│8th & Capitol
Bus interchange
8th & O
Archives Plaza
R Street Yard
13th Street
Bus interchange
16th Street
Broadway
Bus interchange
23rd Street
4th Avenue
Bus interchange
Bus interchange
29th Street
City College
39th Street
Fruitridge
Bus interchange
48th Street
47th Avenue
59th Street
Florin
Bus interchange
Bus interchange
University/65th Street
Meadowview
Bus interchange
Power Inn
Morrison Creek
Bus interchange
Bus interchange
College Greens
Franklin
Bus interchange
Bus interchange
Watt/Manlove
Center Parkway
Starfire
Cosumnes River
College
Bus interchange
Tiber
Bus interchange
Butterfield
Bus interchange
Mather Field/Mills
Bus interchange
Zinfandel
Bus interchange
Cordova
Town Center
Bus interchange
Sunrise
Bus interchange
Hazel
Iron Point
Bus interchange
Glenn
Bus interchange
Historic Folsom
Key
paid parking
Parking
Bus interchange
bus connections
free parking
Parking
bike lockers
bike lockers available

Disabled access All stops are accessible except 12th & I southbound

Sacramento RT Light Rail is a 42.9-mile (69.0 km) light rail system that serves the Sacramento, California area. It consists of three rail lines, 53 stations, and a fleet of 96 vehicles. It is operated by the Sacramento Regional Transit District (RT). With an average of 21,000 weekday daily boardings as of the third quarter of 2023, the RT light rail system is the sixteenth busiest in the United States.

History

RT train interior, August 2022

Origins

The Sacramento Regional Transit District (also known as simply RT) 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).[5]

The first line of the light rail system opened on March 12, 1987. Originally branded as RT Metro,[6][7] the new line linked the northeastern and eastern corridors which both parallel Interstate 80 and Route 50 respectively with Downtown Sacramento.[8] More specifically, the "starter line" ran between Watt/I-80 and Butterfield stations.[9] 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.[10] The line between downtown and Arden Way employed city streets, then turned on a former Western Pacific spur.[11] 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 RT 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.[12]

A Sacramento RT light rail train pulls up to the Sacramento Valley Station.
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.[13]

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.[14] Later in August 2015, RT extended the Blue Line south to Cosumnes River College.[15]


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.[16]

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
28 Watt/I-80 (north)

Cosumnes River College (south)

27 Sacramento Valley Station (west)

Historic Folsom (east)

7 7th & Richards/Township 9 (north)

13th Street (south)

Hours and frequency

All service operates daily from 4:30 am to midnight on weekdays (10:30 pm on weekends). Most trains operate every 15 minutes on weekdays and every 30 minutes at night and on the weekend.[17] However, trains east of Sunrise station on the Gold Line operate every 30 minutes all day.[18]

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).[19]

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.[20]

Rolling stock

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 and 40 newer ones delivered in 2003 from Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles USA (CAF USA).

The fleet will be further augmented by at least 44 brand new Siemens S700 series low floor light rail vehicles starting in 2022 with plans to eventually acquire 76 units to replace the existing aging fleet as additional funding is secured.[21][22] 8 more trainsets were ordered in October 2023.[23]

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 Siemens U2A To be withdrawn from operation starting by the summer of 2024
201–240 40 2002–2003 CAF USA S/200
401-444 44 2022–2024 Siemens S700 Delivery to be completed by the end of 2024 and start to enter into service by summer 2024.[24][25]

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][26] In RT service, they carried fleet numbers 301 through 320. They were withdrawn from use in 2022.

System projects

Light Rail Modernization Project

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 44 new low-floor Siemens vehicles, that allow passengers to directly enter trains at nearly floor level instead of walking up stairs.[24] Those new trains recently started a rigorous three-step testing process in early 2023.[27]  

Two of Sacramento light rail's new Siemens (S700) light rail vehicles are parked in the train yard

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.[25]

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 will begin on January 2, 2024.[28]

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.[29][30] 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.[31] The agency has completed preparing the draft environmental impact report for the project.[32]

The project, estimated at nearly $1 billion, would be the costliest in RT's history and securing funding has been a challenge.[31] 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.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "RT Fact Sheet" (PDF). Sacramento Regional Transit District. June 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  2. "Transit Ridership Report Third Quarter 2023" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. November 30, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  3. "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2022" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 "Sacramento Regional Transit Light Rail Fact Sheet" (PDF). Sacramento Regional Transit. February 2008. Retrieved January 23, 2007.
  5. 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.
  6. "Connections: Sacramento Light Rail & Bus Schedules". The Sacramento Bee. March 22, 1987. p. 2.
  7. "RT Metro Light Rail Timetable". Sacramento Regional Transit District. March 16, 1987.
  8. "SacRT History". www.sacrt.com. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  9. "Light Rail map". Sacramento Regional Transit District. October 13, 1999. Archived from the original on October 13, 1999. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  10. Depster, Doug (October 19, 1983). "Light-Rail Delays Could Raise Costs". Sacramento Bee. p. 19. Retrieved October 24, 2023 via Newspapers.com. Free access icon
  11. Dempster, Doug (December 28, 1982). "New Light-Rail Controversy". The Sacramento Bee. p. 12. Retrieved October 24, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  12. Sacramento Regional Transit. "Folsom Line" (PDF). Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  13. Sacramento Regional Transit. "Folsom Amtrak" (PDF). Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  14. "Home". Green Line 2 Airport. Archived from the original on May 13, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  15. "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.
  16. "Sacramento Regional Transit District (Sacramento RT)". National Transit Database. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  17. "SacRT System Fact Sheet" (PDF). Sacramento Regional Transit District. July 2021. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  18. "507 - GOLD LINE Train". www.sacrt.com. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  19. "SacRT System Fact Sheet" (PDF). Sacramento Regional Transit District. July 2021. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  20. "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.
  21. "SacRT Purchases New Low-Floor Light Rail Vehicles" (Press release). Sacramento Regional Transit. April 22, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  22. 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. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  23. "Sacramento Regional Transit adds to order for Siemens light rail equipment". Trains.com. October 10, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  24. 1 2 "SacRT Awarded $45 Million by FTA for New Light Rail Vehicles – Sacramento Regional Transit District".
  25. 1 2 "Light Rail Modernization Project – Sacramento Regional Transit District".
  26. "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.
  27. "Light Rail Modernization: New Low-Floor Light Rail Vehicles – Sacramento Regional Transit District". Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  28. "Construction Begins in January 2024 for Folsom 15-Minute Light Service Project – Sacramento Regional Transit District". Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  29. "Home". Green Line 2 Airport. Archived from the original on May 13, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  30. "Sacramento RT website: "Green Line to the Airport"". Archived from the original on May 27, 2012.
  31. 1 2 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.
  32. "SacRT Initiatives". October 15, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
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