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10/29/2024
The California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) has selected the recipients of cycle 7 of the 2024 Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP). Over $1 billion in state funding is being awarded to transit agencies and municipalities to support 27 rail projects.
Among the recipients of project funding are the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) District and Sacramento Regional Transit (SacRT) District.
SMART has received an $81 million award to fund a project that will extend passenger-rail service to communities in northern Sonoma County. SMART intends to match the award with $188 million in several secured and pending federal, state, regional and local funds, SMART officials said in a press release.
“This is such a huge victory for the residents of northern Sonoma County and builds off the state’s $40 million investment that is now being utilized to connect the Sonoma County Airport with the Town of Windsor,” said California State Sen. Mike McGuire.
SMART, in collaboration with Sonoma County Transportation Authority – Regional Climate Protection Authority and Caltrans, intends to complete the expansion by 2028. The new rail infrastructure also will support short-line freight service. One new train station and segments of a nonmotorized pedestrian and bicycle path as part of the SMART Pathway will be constructed as part of the northern expansion, SMART officials said.
Meanwhile, SacRT received $29 million in grant funding to pay for several projects across its light-rail network. Combined with an additional $84 million from other state and federal funding sources, SacRT will be able to do the following:
• purchase 10 new S700 low-floor light rail vehicles from Siemens Mobility;
• convert 17 Blue Line rail stations to accommodate the new low-floor vehicles;
• construct the new Dos Rios Station, which will provide connectivity to a historically transit-isolated area;
• construct the new Horn Road Station in Rancho Cordova, which will close a 2.5-mile gap between existing stations on the Gold Line; and
• install platform validator devices and fare vending machines at 54 light-rail stations to streamline ticket purchasing and validation.
A complete list of award recipients can be found here.