This is Sacramento California. Home to 1.5 million people, this US city is connected
by a network of light rail lines, which service 53 stations across three cities. Consisting
of three lines and 43 miles of track, the system connects various neighborhoods across
Sacramento, with trains running between downtown and the suburbs. But how did the system grow
from its original stations to the network it is today? My name’s Zach, and this is the Evolution of the Network.
Light rail service in Sacramento began in
March 1987, with the opening of the initial line and stations. Starting from a station
at Watt Avenue and Interstate-80, the line ran through north Sacramento to downtown,
ending at 13th Street Station. In September of that year, the line was extended
east from downtown, servicing 11 new stations to Butterfield.
In July 1994, two new stations were added at 39th and 48th streets, improving access
to the system from East Sacramento. While these stations were included in the original
light rail plan, protests from local residents saw their construction delayed.
In September 1998, a one-stop extension of the line opened east from Butterfield, bringing
service to a new stop at Mather Field/Mills. In September 2003, a second light rail line
opened, with the south line beginning service. Starting from St Rose of Lima Park in downtown,
the new route followed the existing line to 16th Street, before heading south along a
new set of tracks to Meadowview. In June 2004, an extension opened on the original
light rail line east from Mather Field/Mills, adding three new stations to Sunrise. One
year later in June 2005, service on the network was reconfigured, and a naming system introduced.
Service on the south line was renamed to the Blue line, with trains being extended north
to Watt/I-80 station. Service between Sunrise and Downtown was renamed to the Gold Line,
with trains on the route now ending at St Rose of Lima Park.
In October of that year, the Gold line was extended further east, with four new stations
opening to Historic Folsom. In Downtown Sacramento, an extension of the
Gold line opened in December 2006, with trains serving three new stops to the Sacramento
Valley Amtrak station. March 2010 saw the westbound stop at St Rose of Lima Park reconstructed,
with the station being relocated to 7th & K, and also servicing trains on the Gold Line.
In January 2012, a new station was opened on the Gold Line north of downtown, with the
8th & H/County Center beginning service for northbound trains. In June, Sacramento’s third light
rail line began operations, running on weekdays only in downtown. Starting from 13th Street
Station, the Green line follows the Gold line north to County Centre, before continuing
north to a new stop at 7th & Richards/Township 9.
At the south end of the Blue line, an extension opened in August 2015, adding three new stations
to Cosumnes River College. In September 2016, the station at 7th & K was closed due to its
proximity to the 7th & Capitol stop, while the eastbound stop at St Rose of Lima Park
was formally renamed to 9th & K. Finally in October 2019, 39th Street Station
on the Gold Line was renamed, reflecting a new transit connection to the nearby UC Davis
Health Center. This brings us to the Sacramento Light Rail Map that we know today.
That was the evolution of Sacramento’s light rail network, giving us the three lines that
we know today. If you haven’t already, be sure to watch our Evolution of the Network
videos on other American cities, which you can access by clicking the button in the top
right corner. Don’t forget to leave a like if you enjoyed this video, and comment down
below to join in the discussion. My name’s Zach, and I’ll be Vanishing Underground,
until the next one.