A Siemens Duewag U2A in downtown Sacramento
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Overview | |||
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Locale | Sacramento, CA | ||
Transit type | Light rail | ||
Number of lines | 3 | ||
Number of stations | 54 | ||
Daily ridership | 48,400 average weekday riders (Q1 2013) |
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Annual ridership | 13.873 million (2012) | ||
Website | Sacramento Regional Transit District | ||
Operation | |||
Began operation | March 12, 1987 | ||
Operator(s) | Sacramento Regional Transit District | ||
Number of vehicles | 36 Siemens-Duewag U2A vehicles and 40 CAF Class 200 vehicles |
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Technical | |||
System length | 42.9 mi (69.0 km) | ||
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) (standard gauge) | ||
Electrification | Overhead lines, 750 V DC | ||
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The Sacramento RT Light Rail system (reporting mark SCRT) is a 42.9 mi (69.0 km) 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, 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.
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.