Sacramento News & Review
Support Local Independent Journalism Sign up for our newsletter!
  • News
    • Crime Beat
    • COVID-19
    • Police Reform
    • Q&A
  • Voices
    • Greenlight
    • Essay
    • Fifteen Minutes
    • Ask Joey
    • Ask 420
  • Arts+Culture
    • Food
    • Music
    • Home & Garden
    • Rebooting the Arts
  • Calendar
  • Solving Sacramento
    • Rebooting the Arts
    • Housing
    • About Solving Sacramento
  • Sponsor Spotlight
  • Connect with SN&R
    • Become a supporter
    • Tax deductible support
    • Get the Newsletter
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
    • Contact Us
  • Archives
    • Best of Sac
    • Local Dining
    • SAMMIES
    • SN&R Print Archive
Hot Topics
  • March 9, 2021 | In light of recent deaths, Sacramento City Hall faces reckoning on warming centers
  • July 10, 2025 | Brenda Solórzano on urgency, resilience and the future of philanthropy
  • July 10, 2025 | 8 Sacramento events to experience in July
  • July 9, 2025 | Audience finds treasure at ‘In a Nutshell’ June show in Sacramento
  • July 9, 2025 | Artemis & The Messengers take the stage on July 11 with special guests at Nevada City’s Off Broadstreet
  • July 8, 2025 | Sacramento Valley Tenants Union’s Daniela Harvey on the power of collective action for tenant rights
Spotlight Community

Modernization Grants

Photo courtesy of SacRT

By: Thea Rood July 20, 2020

The future of public transportation in the Sacramento region just got a whole lot more interesting, not in small part because of $27 million coming its way.

The Sacramento Regional Transit District was awarded two grants this past April to help fund two major projects. Both grants come from the California State Transportation Agency and are designed to support the region’s light rail system, provide local jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Here’s how the grants break down and what they pay for:

$23.6 million to acquire eight new low-floor light rail trains

These new cars will be in addition to the planned purchase of 20 low-floor vehicles from the locally based Siemens Mobility plant, the first of which are expected in 2022. Low-floor light rail trains are level with the station platforms—as opposed to stepping up stairs to enter a train car—and improve accessibility for aging adults and people with disabilities, as well as passengers with luggage, strollers or bicycles.

Together, the 28 cars will create a large fleet of low-floor vehicles that—along with the upcoming construction of a “passing track”—will drastically reduce the time between stations at the end of the Gold Line, which operates from Sacramento to the City of Folsom.

“Folsom residents have waited a long time to see 15-minute service between Sunrise and the Historic Folsom light rail stations, and (this is) tremendous news,” says former SacRT board director and City of Folsom councilmember Andy Morin.

$3.9 million for improving connections in the downtown core

This grant will help construct a new north-side access route to connect the Sacramento Valley Station Transit Center to the future Railyards Plaza. The goal is to ease transportation between the Railyards and River District developments and encourage people to use public transportation rather than drive.

“These projects would help lower greenhouse gases and vehicle miles traveled by our communities,” says Dr. Richard Pan, state senator for District 6, which includes the cities of Sacramento and West Sacramento. “(They will) also provide reliable public transportation for our daily commuters and ensure that we are lowering our carbon footprint as a region.”

TOPICS:greenhouse gaslight railRailyards PlazaSacramento Regional Transit DistrictSacramento Valley Station Transit CenterSacRT

Our content is free, but not free to produce

If you value our local news, arts and entertainment coverage, become an SN&R supporter with a one-time or recurring donation. Help us keep our reporters at work, bringing you the stories that need to be told.

Become a supporter
Newsletter

Stay Updated

For the latest local news, arts and entertainment, sign up for our newsletter.
We'll tell you the story behind the story.

    • Previous post
    • Next post

    About the Sponsor

    Sacramento Regional Transit District
    The Sacramento Regional Transit District, commonly referred to as SacRT, is the 2019 national TSA Gold Standard Security Award recipient for the highest standard of excellence and is the regional transit provider in the capital of California (the 5th largest economy in the world). It operates more than 80 bus routes, 43 miles of light rail serving 52 light rail stations and ADA paratransit services--all within a 400 square-mile service area throughout Sacramento County. This includes service in the cities of Sacramento, Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, Folsom and Rancho Cordova. http://www.sacrt.com/

    Related Articles

    News, Voices

    Streetcar to nowhere?


    News, Voices

    Editor’s note: Do-over on transit tax


    COVID-19, News

    Planetary do-over?


    Meet the sponsors

    • Berkeley Strategy Advisors
      Berkeley Strategy Advisors

      published 5 articles

    • BRIDGE Housing
      BRIDGE Housing

      published 3 articles

    • California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls
      California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls

      published 1 article

    • California Workforce Association
      California Workforce Association

      published 13 articles

    • City of Elk Grove
      City of Elk Grove

      published 11 articles

    • City of Roseville
      City of Roseville

      published 12 articles

    • Del Paso Boulevard Partnership
      Del Paso Boulevard Partnership

      published 28 articles

    • Exotic Plants
      Exotic Plants

      published 6 articles

    • Joshua's House Hospice
      Joshua's House Hospice

      published 4 articles

    • Midtown
      Midtown

      published 11 articles

    • MOVE The Valley
      MOVE The Valley

      published 9 articles

    • N&R Publications
      N&R Publications

      published 5 articles

    • Northern California Research
      Northern California Research

      published 10 articles

    • Sacramento County Department of Child Family and Adult Services
      Sacramento County Department of Child Family and Adult Services

      published 6 articles

    • Sacramento County Department of Child Support Services
      Sacramento County Department of Child Support Services

      published 5 articles

    • Sacramento County In-Home Supportive Services
      Sacramento County In-Home Supportive Services

      published 6 articles

    • Sacramento County Office of Education
      Sacramento County Office of Education

      published 2 articles

    • Sacramento County Probation Department
      Sacramento County Probation Department

      published 11 articles

    • Sacramento Regional Transit District
      Sacramento Regional Transit District

      published 28 articles

    • SEIU
      SEIU

      published 30 articles

    • Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
      Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

      published 1 article

    • The California Endowment
      The California Endowment

      published 65 articles

    • Volunteers of America
      Volunteers of America

      published 8 articles

    • Workforce Development Board of Solano County
      Workforce Development Board of Solano County

      published 4 articles

    • Yuba Water Agency
      Yuba Water Agency

      published 8 articles

    Our Sponsors

    Berkeley Strategy Advisors BRIDGE Housing California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls California Workforce Association City of Elk Grove City of Roseville Del Paso Boulevard Partnership Exotic Plants Joshua's House Hospice Midtown MOVE The Valley N&R Publications Northern California Research Sacramento County Department of Child Family and Adult Services Sacramento County Department of Child Support Services Sacramento County In-Home Supportive Services Sacramento County Office of Education Sacramento County Probation Department Sacramento Regional Transit District SEIU Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. The California Endowment Volunteers of America Workforce Development Board of Solano County Yuba Water Agency

    Categories

    Community

    Tags

    2020 affordable housing art astrology Black Lives Matter board of supervisors California cannabis City Council city hall climate change coronavirus COVID-19 COVID-19 in Sacramento Donald Trump election food gardening gavin newsom George Floyd homeless homelessness horoscopes jobs Joe Biden letters Mayor Darrell Steinberg music november election pandemic police reform president donald trump presidential election protests public health Q&A sacramento sacramento county Sacramento police Sacramento Regional Transit District SacRT SEIU Stephon Clark strong mayor taxes
    Newsletter

    Stay Updated

    For the latest local news, arts and entertainment, sign up for our newsletter.
    We'll tell you the story behind the story.

      Recent Posts
      • Brenda Solórzano on urgency, resilience and the future of philanthropy
      • 8 Sacramento events to experience in July
      • Audience finds treasure at ‘In a Nutshell’ June show in Sacramento
      • Artemis & The Messengers take the stage on July 11 with special guests at Nevada City’s Off Broadstreet
      • Sacramento Valley Tenants Union’s Daniela Harvey on the power of collective action for tenant rights
      Links
      • Newsletter Signup
      • Follow us on Twitter
      • Find us on Facebook
      • SN&R Archives
      • Best of Sac
      • SAMMIES
      • RSS
      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms of Service
      • Contact Us
      Become a supporter
      Categories
      • 2020 election (86)
      • Arts+Culture (948)
      • Ask Joey (1,017)
      • Cannabis (42)
      • COVID-19 (313)
      • Crime Beat (146)
      • Food (109)
      • Greenlight (492)
      • Home & Garden (81)
      • Housing (105)
      • Music (278)
      • News (1,704)
      • Q&A (34)
      • Rebooting the Arts (253)
      • Solving Sacramento (396)
      • Stage (74)
      • Voices (526)

      © 2019+ Sacramento News & Review