Blue Line (Sacramento RT)

Blue Line
Overview
Type Light Rail
System Sacramento Regional Transit District
Status Operational
Locale Sacramento, California
Termini Watt/I-80 (north)
Cosumnes River College (south)
Stations 28
Services Route 533
Operation
Opened 1987 (as Watt/I-80–Downtown–Butterfield)
Operator(s) Sacramento Regional Transit District
Technical
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) (standard gauge)
Route map

The Blue Line is a light rail line in the Sacramento Regional Transit District (RT) system. It runs primarily north-south in Sacramento between Watt/I-80 and Cosumnes River College. Portions of the Blue Line run along the original initial alignment between Watt/I-80 and 16th Street stations.

History

The first light rail line of the RT opened March 12, 1987.[1] Initial service commenced between Watt/I-80 and 8th & O stations only for the first six months. It was extended to Butterfield that same year on September 5.[1] In all, it was an 18.3-mile (29.5 km) route between Watt/I-80 station in North Sacramento, through downtown, and continuing east on Folsom Blvd. to Butterfield Way station. It was built at a cost of $176 million USD (1987), including the cost of vehicles and maintenance and storage facilities. Much of the line, when it was first built, was single-tracked, though improvements over the 1990s allowed much of the original system to be double-tracked. The line was built mainly using a railroad right-of-way, coupled with use of structures of an abandoned freeway project. A limited portion of the route runs on streets, mainly in downtown Sacramento.

The line became more popular than anticipated—in fact, so popular that further expansions and improvements were necessary. Two new stations at 39th and 48th streets opened in 1995, and a 2.3-mile (3.7 km) extension to the Mather Field/Mills station opened in 1998. In June 2004, a further extension from Mather Field/Mills to Sunrise was opened.

On September 26, 2003, the South Line opened for 6.3 miles (10.1 km) between the 16th Street station on the Watt/I-80-Downtown-Mather Field/Mills line and a station at Meadowview Road in the south end, which is the first phase of a planned longer 11.2-mile (18.0 km) line to Elk Grove. The extension runs parallel a railroad right-of-way. When it opened, 7 new stops were added to the system. Following a June 2005 reconfiguration of the light rail lines, the South Line merged with the Watt I-80/Downtown line (formerly part of the previous Watt/I-80-Downtown-Sunrise line) effectively combining the old line with the new, and was redesignated the Blue Line. The former original portion of the Watt/I-80-Downtown-Folsom line was redesignated the Gold Line.

On August 24, 2015, a second extension opened to Cosumnes River College, adding three new stations and 4.3 miles (6.9 km) to the line.[2] A fourth station, Morrison Creek, is scheduled to open in 2017 after development near the station is built.[3]

Listing of stations on the Blue Line

Station Opened Bike lockers Transfers
Watt/I-80 1987 Yes RT buses 1, 15, 19, 26, 80, 84, 93, 103
Placer County Transit
Watt/I-80 West 1987 Yes No transfers on site
Roseville Road 1987 Yes 85
Marconi Arcade 1987 Yes RT buses 25, 86, 87
Swanston 1987 Yes No transfers on site
Royal Oaks 1987 No RT buses 22 and 23
Arden/Del Paso 1987 Yes RT buses 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 22, 23, 25, 88
Globe 1987 No RT bus 15
Alkali Flat/La Valentina 1987 No RT bus 33
12th & I 1987 No No transfers on site
Cathedral Square (westbound: 10th & K, eastbound: 11th & K) 1987 No No transfers on site
St. Rose of Lima Park (westbound: 7th & K, eastbound: 9th & K) 1987 No           Gold and Green Lines (southbound only)
Many RT buses
7th & Capitol (southbound); 8th & Capitol (northbound) 1987 No           Gold and Green Lines
8th & O 1987 No           Gold and Green Lines
Archives Plaza 1987 No           Gold and Green Lines
13th Street 1987 No           Gold and Green Lines
16th Street 1987 No      Gold Line
RT bus 6
Broadway 2003 No RT buses 51, 62
4th Avenue/Wayne Hultgren 2003 No RT bus 62
City College 2003 No No Transfers on site
Fruitridge 2003 No RT buses 61, 205, 252
47th Avenue 2003 Yes No Transfers on site
Florin 2003 Yes RT buses 54, 65, 81
Meadowview 2003 Yes RT buses 4, 5, 47, 56,
E-Tran 156
Morrison Creek 2017 (planned)
Franklin 2015
Center Parkway 2015
Cosumnes River College 2015

Blue Line extension project

The 'Blue Line to Cosumnes River College light rail extension Project' — the second phase in the South Sacramento Corridor Study — commenced construction in 2011. [4] [5][6] The first phase of this study (Downtown Sacramento to Meadowview Road) has been completed and is operating.[4] Both Blue Line extensions are component in the 10-year Rail Development Plan for a new light rail corridor in the South Sacramento area.[4] Completion of the project, including four new stations, and initiating revenue service is anticipated to begin in September 2015. [5] The current project will extend the Blue Line south to a new Cosumnes River College—CRC terminus.[4]

New stations

New Blue Line stations under construction, north to south from the existing Meadowview Station, are: [7]

Extension planning issues

The line is currently ending at the college in response to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) land use, station accessibility, and federal grants needs. Other changes include: a new station at Morrison Creek (midway between Meadowview and Franklin Stations); improved pedestrian access to Franklin and Center Parkway Stations; and a 2000—car parking structure at Cosumnes River College, replacing a previously planned surface parking lot.[4] [8] [9]

California's ongoing financial crisis also contributed to the decision to terminate the Blue Line extension project at Cosumnes River College. Expansion to Elk Grove is covered in the TransitAction Plan, which is tied to the SACOG Blueprint, and a schedule has yet to be determined. [4][9]

Blue Line gallery

References

  1. 1 2 Sebree, Mac (February 1988). "Sacramento Light Rail". Pacific RailNews, pp. 16–17. Glendale: Interurban Press.
  2. ↑ Bizjack, Tony (August 24, 2015). "Transit advocates, riders celebrate opening of light rail's south line". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
  3. ↑ Masui, Alane (August 22, 2015). "RT Celebrates Grand Opening of Blue Line to Cosumnes River College Light Rail Extension" (Press release). Sacramento Regional Transit District. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Blue Line to Cosumnes River College (CRC) light rail extension project Website . accessed 4.14.2013
  5. 1 2 Official Blue Line extension website: Project Schedule (completed and current) . accessed 4.14.2013
  6. ↑ Official Blue Line extension website: Current Construction Activity (Latest Construction Activity + Lane Closures Updates webpage) . accessed 4.14.2013
  7. ↑ Official Blue Line extension website: Blue Line extension Map (with route, stations, and flyover bridges).
  8. ↑ Official Blue Line extension website: "In order to compete for Federal funding, terminus stations (such as the one proposed at Cosumnes River College) need to provide sufficient parking to claim ridership. A computer model generates the anticipated demand for spaces required at each of the stations. The model calculated a demand of 2,000 spaces for the College." . accessed 4.14.2013
  9. 1 2 South Sacramento Corridor Phase 2 Project

External links

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