South Sacramento Corridor Light Rail Extension, USA

The aim of the South Sacramento Corridor light rail extension is to connect the Central Business District with Downtown Sacramento. As it is recognised that light rail vehicle travel has a substantial impact on peak-period trips into Sacramento’s core area, through reducing the number of car journeys during those times, a light rail extension was considered sensible.

The extension is also part of a long-term regional transportation plan that has allocated 14% of the $4.4 billion budget in proposed transportation system costs to light rail. The hope is that the light rail system will reduce congestion in the city’s other modes of transportation. Sacramento Regional Transit District (RT) manages the project.

SOUTH LINE LIGHT RAIL EXTENSION OVERVIEW

The South Line is a two-phased, 11.2 miles, extension of the existing light rail line south to Elk Grove. The first phase will extend the light rail from Downtown Sacramento 6.3 miles to Meadowview Road. Upon completion, this first phase is projected to add more than 15,000 passengers to the light rail system by 2015. The second phase will not commence until the completion of the first phase.

COST AND FUNDING OF THE LIGHT RAIL EXTENSION

The total cost of the extension project is estimated at $222 million. Construction costs are $68 million for civil works and systems and $18 million for the stations. Most of the rest of the spending goes on the new line’s rolling stock. Roughly half of the funding for the extension project comes from federal sources. The rest is sourced from the State government.

PROJECT TIME-SCALE

The provisional schedule for the implementation of phase one is as follows: construction of the track began during the summer of 2000; construction of the new stations in the summer of 2001 and it is proposed that transport services will begin in September 2003.

NEW STATIONS

There will be several new stations as part of the first phase extension, each providing for bus and light rail transfers.

The station at 47^th Avenue will have approximately 500 parking spaces and will serve the surrounding industrial areas and the Brentwood and Fullerton neighbourhoods. The station at Florin will have approximately 900 parking spaces and the station at Meadowbank will include an 800 space park and ride facility and will serve the Sam Pannell Community Centre and surrounding residential areas.

LIGHT RAIL VEHICLE (LRV) AND OTHER CONTRACTS

Entranco has been awarded a contract to provide construction management services to the South Sacramento LRT. Entranco will be responsible for ensuring that the project is completed on time and in budget.

Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (C.A.F.) have been awarded the Light Rail Vehicle (LRV) contract for the Sacramento South LRT. C.A.F. will build 40 new LRVs, which will be delivered between 2001 and 2003. Each of the LRVs will consist of two articulated compartments with capacity for 64 seated passengers and 135 standing passengers.

The LRVs are equipped with an AC drive mechanism which, in brake mode, can generate electrical energy that is then transmitted back to the line. These vehicles will have a maximum speed of 100km/hour. The contract also includes the renovation and modernisation of the communication system of all vehicles currently in service.