Sacramento RT Light Rail

Sacramento RT Light Rail

A Siemens Duewag U2A in downtown Sacramento
Overview
Locale Sacramento, CA
Transit type Light rail
Number of lines 3
Number of stations 54[1]
Daily ridership 48,400 average weekday riders
(Q1 2013)[2]
Annual ridership 13.873 million (2012)[3]
Website Sacramento Regional Transit District
Operation
Began operation March 12, 1987[4]
Operator(s) Sacramento Regional Transit District
Number of vehicles 36 Siemens-Duewag U2A vehicles
and 40 CAF Class 200 vehicles[4]
Technical
System length 42.9 mi (69.0 km)[1]
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) (standard gauge)
Electrification Overhead lines, 750 V DC
System map
Sacramento RT Light Rail
System diagram
 Watt/I-80 Parking
Watt/I-80 West Parking
 Roseville Road Parking
 Marconi/Arcade Parking
 RT Facility
 Swanston Parking
 Royal Oaks
 Arden/Del Paso Parking
Globe Parking
7th & Richards/Township 9
Alkali Flat/La Valentina
Amtrak Sac Valley Station
12th & I*
7th & I
8th & H
County Center
Cathedral Square
11th & K
10th & K
8th & K
9th & K
closed
2016
 7th & K
7th & Capitol
8th & Capitol
8th & O
Archives Plaza
13th Street
R Street Yard
16th Street
Broadway
23rd Street
4th Ave./W. Hultgren
29th Street
City College
39th Street
Fruitridge
48th Street
Parking 47th Avenue
59th Street
Parking Florin
University/65th Street
Parking Meadowview
Power Inn Parking
(2017) Morrison Creek
College Greens
Parking Franklin
Watt/Manlove Parking
Center Parkway
Starfire
Parking Cosumnes River College
Tiber
 Butterfield Parking
 Mather Field/Mills Parking
 Zinfandel
 Cordova Town Center Parking
 Sunrise Parking
 Hazel Parking
 Iron Point Parking
 Glenn Parking
 Historic Folsom Parking
Key:
Paid Parking Parking
customer service & sales
 
Free parking Parking
*
all stations except
12th & I southbound
Light rail stop at K Street Mall, Downtown Sacramento.

The Sacramento RT Light Rail system (reporting mark SCRT) is a 42.9 mi (69.0 km)[1] system, consisting of three rail lines, 54 stations, and 76 vehicles. It is operated by the Sacramento Regional Transit District.

Before the June 2010 budget cuts, RT light rail formerly operated from 4:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily with 15 minute headways during the day. After the budget cuts took place, light rail service was curtailed to operate from 4:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, with service every 15 minutes Monday through Friday, and every 30 minutes on weekends and at night. In 2013, RT light rail service was restored to operate more hours again, now operating from 4:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m.

Sacramento's light rail system, with an average of 48,400 weekday daily boardings in Q1 2013,[2] is the eleventh busiest in the United States.

The creation and maintenance of the light-rail system is pushed by the advocacy group Friends of Light Rail and Transit.

History

In 1987, the 18.3-mile (29.5 km) light rail “starter line” opened, linking the northeastern (Interstate 80) and eastern (Route 50) corridors with Downtown Sacramento. As light rail ridership increased, RT continued to expand the light rail system. RT completed its first light rail expansion along the Highway 50 corridor in September 1998 with the opening of the Mather Field/Mills Station. Five years later (September 2003) RT opened the first phase of the South Line, a 6.3-mile (10.1 km) extension to South Sacramento. In June 2004, light rail was 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.

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. Within the next several years, RT plans to extend light rail beyond Meadowview, South Sacramento, to Cosumnes River College and north to Sacramento International Airport. RT currently operates 97 bus routes in a 418-square-mile (1,080 km2) service area.

Stations

Numbers provided are average weekday "on & offs":

Blue Line – Watt/I-80–Downtown–Cosumnes River College Line

Gold Line – Downtown–Sunrise Folsom Line

Green Line – Downtown–Township 9

Future projects

Future plans include extending the Green Line to the Sacramento International Airport via the neighborhood of Natomas.[5] A planned extension to Roseville, once a top priority, has been on hold for years. Extensions to Elk Grove, Roseville, and Citrus Heights are part of the Sacramento Regional Transit Master Plan, adopted by RT in September 2009.[6] The light rail system may also serve as the basis for the proposed Sacramento Streetcar.[7]

Green Line future extension project

The Green Line to Sacramento International Airport (SMF) light rail future extension Project will extend service 12 miles (19.3 km) to Sacramento International Airport. Future new Green Line stations, South to Northwest from the existing 7th & Richards/Township 9 Station, are:

Blue Line extension project

The 'Blue Line to Cosumnes River College light rail extension Project' – the second phase in the South Sacramento Corridor Study – commenced construction in 2011.[8][9][10] The first phase of this study (Downtown Sacramento to Meadowview Road) has been completed and is operating.[8] Both Blue Line extensions are component in the 10-year Rail Development Plan for a new light rail corridor in the South Sacramento area.[8] In August 2015, the 4.3 miles (6.9 km) extension opened, with a final cost of $260 million.[11] 11,000 riders are expected to use the new stations daily. The project extended the Blue Line south to a new Cosumnes River College—CRC terminus.[8]

New Blue Line stations, north to south from the existing Meadowview Station, are:[12]

Planning issues

The line currently ends at the college in response to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) land use, station accessibility, and federal grants needs. Other changes include: a new station at Morrison Creek (halfway between Meadowview and Franklin); improved pedestrian access to Franklin and Center Parkway stations; and a 2000 car parking structure, replacing previously planned surface parking, at Cosumnes River College.[8][13][14]

California's ongoing financial crisis also contributed to the decision to terminate the Blue Line extension project at Cosumnes River College. Expansion to Elk Grove is covered in the TransitAction Plan, which is tied to the SACOG Blueprint, and a schedule has yet to be determined.[8][14]

Rolling Stock

The LRV fleet consists of Siemens-Duewag U2A vehicles, which have been in use since the light rail's inception, and more modern CAF trains delivered in 2003 as well as 20 refurbished Urban Transportation Development Corporation (UTDC) train cars purchased from the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority--refurbished by Siemens..[4]

Fleet Number Range Thumbnail Year Manufacturer Model Number Motors Notes
35 1912 American Car Company California Car
101-126 1985-1986 Siemens-Duewag U2A
127-136 1990-1991 Siemens U2A
201, 202-240 2002-2003 CAF SRV-I
301-320[15] 1987 UTDC Purchased from Santa Clara VTA, refurbished by Siemens[16] in 2015

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "RT Fact Sheet" (pdf). Sacramento Regional Transit District. June 2015. Retrieved 2015-09-09.
  2. 1 2 "APTA Ridership Report - Q1 2013 Report" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association (APTA) (via: http://www.apta.com/resources/statistics/Pages/ridershipreport.aspx). May 2013. Retrieved 2013-06-22. External link in |publisher= (help)
  3. ↑ "APTA Ridership Report - Q4 2012 Report" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association (APTA) (via: http://www.apta.com/resources/statistics/Pages/RidershipArchives.aspx). March 2013. Retrieved 2013-07-13. External link in |publisher= (help)
  4. 1 2 3 "Sacramento Regional Transit Light Rail FACT SHEET" (pdf). Sacramento Regional Transit Light Rail. February 2008. Retrieved 2007-01-23.
  5. ↑ Sacramento RT website: "Green Line to the Airport"
  6. ↑ "Sacramento TransitAction Regional Transit Master Plan: Executive Summary" (PDF). Sacramento Regional Transit District. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  7. ↑ Bizjak, Tony (1 May 2017). "Sacramento streetcar line gets $50 million in congressional budget". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Information Center - Blue Line". Sacramento Regional Transit District. Retrieved 2013-07-30.
  9. ↑ "Project Schedule - Blue Line". Sacramento Regional Transit District. Retrieved 2013-07-30.
  10. ↑ "Current Construction Schedule - Blue Line". Sacramento Regional Transit District. Retrieved 2013-07-30.
  11. ↑ Bizjak, Tony (August 24, 2015). "Transit advocates, riders celebrate opening of light rail’s south line". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Gallery - Blue Line". Sacramento Regional Transit District. Retrieved 2013-07-30.
  13. ↑ Official Blue Line extension website: "In order to compete for Federal funding, terminus stations (such as the one proposed at Cosumnes River College) need to provide sufficient parking to claim ridership. A computer model generates the anticipated demand for spaces required at each of the stations. The model calculated a demand of 2,000 spaces for the College." . accessed 4.14.2013
  14. 1 2 South Sacramento Corridor Phase 2 Project
  15. ↑ "Rolling Stock (LRV)". Sacramento Regional Transit. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
  16. ↑ "Siemens-refurbished light rail vehicles to begin operating on new Sacramento Regional Transit line | Siemens USA Newsroom". news.usa.siemens.biz. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
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