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]

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]

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.

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]

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.