SacRT awarded state funding for light-rail improvements

The California Transportation Commission (CTC) awarded the Sacramento Regional Transit District (SacRT) two state grants to continue improving the access, reliability and capacity of its light-rail system. 

The CTC will provide SacRT $33.87 million from its Solutions for Congested Corridors Program, which will help fund all three major components of the agency’s light-rail modernization project: the purchase of light-rail vehicles, low-floor station conversions and facility improvements at the Watt/I-80 Station in North Highlands, California.

The proceeds will help with the purchase of eight new low-floor light rail vehicles to replace eight high-floor vehicles that are past their useful life, and convert four stations on the Blue Line from Cathedral Square to the Watt/I-80 stations to accommodate the low-floor vehicles. 

Station work will include raising the platform up at least eight inches to allow for automatic ramp deployment from the new light-rail vehicles. 

The CTC also awarded SacRT $1.6 million from its Local Partnership Program (LPP) to continue improvements on the Gold light-rail line.

SacRT will combine the LPP funds with the $23.6 million Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program funding from the California State Transportation Agency provided earlier this year to support the purchase of low-floor light-rail vehicles.

Siemens Mobility will manufacture up to 76 low-floor light rail vehicles for SacRT. The agency signed a notice to proceed in April for 20 light-rail vehicles, the delivery of which will begin in early 2023.

SacRT earlier was awarded $184.5 million in state and federal funding for the $610 million light-rail modernization project.