Sacramento RT Light Rail

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Sacramento RT Light Rail
A Siemens Duewag U2A in downtown Sacramento
A Siemens Duewag U2A in downtown Sacramento
Overview
LocaleSacramento, CA
Transit typeLight rail
Number of lines3
Number of stations54[1]
Daily ridership38,900 average weekday riders
(Q3 2017)[2]
Annual ridership13.873 million (2012)[3]
WebsiteSacramento Regional Transit District
Operation
Began operationMarch 12, 1987[4]
Operator(s)Sacramento Regional Transit District
Number of vehicles36 Siemens-Duewag U2A vehicles
and 40 CAF Class 200 vehicles[4]
Technical
System length42.9 mi (69.0 km)[1]
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) (standard gauge)
ElectrificationOverhead lines, 750 V DC
System map
Sacramento RT Light Rail
Legend
Bus interchange
 Watt/I-80
bike locks Parking ■
 Watt/I-80 West
Parking ■
Bus interchange
 Roseville Road
Parking ■
Bus interchange
 Marconi/Arcade
Parking ■
RT Facility
 Swanston
Parking ■
Bus interchange
 Royal Oaks
■
Bus interchange
 Arden/Del Paso
bike locks Parking ■
Bus interchange
 Globe
Parking ■
 Dos Rios
(planned)
■
7th & Richards/
Township 9
Bus interchange
Bus interchange
 Alkali Flat/La Valentina
■
■ Amtrak
 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
■
■ bike locks
 City College
39th Street
■
■
 Fruitridge
Bus interchange
48th Street
■
■ Parking
 47th Avenue
59th Street
■
■ Parking bike locks
 Florin
Bus interchange
Bus interchange
 University/65th Street
■
■ Parking bike locks
 Meadowview
Bus interchange
Power Inn
Parking ■
■ Parking
 Morrison Creek
Bus interchange
Bus interchange
 College Greens
■
■ Parking
 Franklin
Bus interchange
Bus interchange
 Watt/Manlove
Parking ■
■
 Center Parkway
Starfire
■
■ Parking
Cosumnes River
College
Bus interchange
Tiber
■
Bus interchange
 Butterfield
Parking ■
Bus interchange
 Mather Field/Mills
Parking ■
Bus interchange
 Zinfandel
■
Bus interchange
Cordova
Town Center
Parking ■
Bus interchange
 Sunrise
Parking ■
Bus interchange
 Hazel
Parking ■
 Iron Point
■
Bus interchange
 Glenn
Parking ■
Bus interchange
 Historic Folsom
Parking ■
Key
Blue Line ■
Two services
Gold Line ■
Multiple services
Green Line ■
Paid parking
Parking
Bus interchange
 Bus connections
Free parking
Parking
bike lockers
 Bike lockers available
Handicapped/disabled access All stops are accessible except 12th & I southbound
= Flag stop
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] light rail system, consisting of three rail lines, 54 stations, and 76 vehicles. It is operated by the Sacramento Regional Transit District.

Sacramento's light rail system, with an average of 38,900 weekday daily boardings in Q3 2017,[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

Prior to 1980 efforts by community organizers led by the Modern Transit Society to bring light rail to Sacramento were stopped in their tracks by a pro-bus-only Regional Transit District Administration and Board of Directors.

After many months of very adverse media attention to management failures, all of the senior management was fired, and the majority of the Board either resigned or were replaced.

In 1980-81, a new Board of Directors hired a new General Manager, Bob Nelson, who had been a senior manager in the design and construction of the Bay area BART system.

A management troika of Nelson, RT General Counsel John Kettleson, and Public Affairs Director and Assistant General Manager Bill Green, was successful in completely reorganizing the agency, reversing its negative public reputation, and obtaining swift approval and funding for a bold new light rail project.

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.

Operations and headways

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. Monday through Saturday, and from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sunday, although the frequency headways remain unchanged. The only exception is the Green Line which operates Monday through Friday only from 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. running every 30 minutes throughout service times.

Stations

Main article: List of Sacramento RT light rail stations

Most popular stations

Numbers provided are average weekday boardings and alights:

  • 16th Street: 4,800[1]
  • Meadowview: 3,000[1]
  • St. Rose of Lima Park: 2,800[1]

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

Main article: Blue Line (Sacramento RT)

Gold Line – Downtown–Sunrise Folsom Line

Main article: Gold Line (Sacramento RT)

Green Line – Downtown–Township 9

Main article: Green Line (Sacramento RT)

Future projects

Sacramento RT has several plans to expand the light rail system, but most have been placed on hold due to a lack of funding.

The most recent Sacramento Regional Transit Master Plan, adopted September 2009 included plans to extend the system to Elk Grove, Roseville, and Citrus Heights.[5]

Green Line to Sacramento International Airport

The Green Line to Sacramento International Airport light rail future extension Project will extend service 12 miles (19.3 km) to the airport via the Natomas neighborhood.[6] 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.[7] The agency is currently completing environmental documents for the project.[8]

The project, estimated at nearly $1 billion, would be the costliest in RT's history and securing funding has been a challenge.[7] 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.[9][10]

Rolling stock

The LRV fleet is composed of cars from three different builders: 36 from Siemens-Duewag U2A, some of which have been in use since the RT opened; 40 newer ones delivered in 2003 from Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, and 20 Urban Transportation Development Corporation cars purchased from Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and refurbished by Siemens.[4]

Numbers Qty Built Manufacturer Model Notes
35 01 1912 American Car Company "California" car
101–126 26 1985–1986 Siemens-Duewag U2A
127–136 10 1990–1991 Siemens U2A
201
202–240 		40 2002
2003 		Construcciones y Auxiliar
de Ferrocarriles 		SRV-I
301–320[11] 20 1987 Urban Transportation
Development Corporation

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "RT Fact Sheet" (pdf). Sacramento Regional Transit District. June 2015. Retrieved 2015-09-09.
  2. ^ a b "APTA Ridership Report - Q3 2017 Report" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association (APTA) (via: http://www.apta.com/resources/statistics/Pages/ridershipreport.aspx). November 2017. Retrieved 2018-02-09. {{cite web}}: 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. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ a b c "Sacramento Regional Transit Light Rail FACT SHEET" (pdf). Sacramento Regional Transit Light Rail. February 2008. Retrieved 2007-01-23.
  5. ^ "Sacramento TransitAction Regional Transit Master Plan: Executive Summary" (PDF). Sacramento Regional Transit District. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  6. ^ Sacramento RT website: "Green Line to the Airport" Archived 2012-05-27 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ a b 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.
  8. ^ "Green Line to the Airport fact sheet" (PDF). Retrieved 2018-07-10.
  9. ^ Bizjak, Tony (2016-03-27). "Sacramento unveils $3.6 billion transportation project to-do list". The Sacramento Bee. ISSN 0890-5738. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
  10. ^ "What's next for Sacramento roads and transit after Measure B defeat?". The Sacramento Bee. 2016-11-23. ISSN 0890-5738. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
  11. ^ "Rolling Stock (LRV)". Sacramento Regional Transit. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
  12. ^ "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.

External links

Media related to Sacramento Light Rail at Wikimedia Commons

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