written by
Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
SacRT’s first new low-floor LRV from Siemens Mobility. (Photo courtesy of SacRT, via Twitter)
The Sacramento Regional Transit District (SacRT) this month received the first of 28 light rail vehicles (S700) from Siemens Mobility in South Sacramento, California.
In April 2020, SacRT and Siemens Mobility began executing contracts for the purchase of the cars, including an option for up to 76 more, to replace older cars that had reached the end of their useful lives. They were SacRT’s first orders since the late 1980s, when it selected Siemens to supply 36 U2A vehicles.
According to the transit agency, the low-floor LRVs “will offer easier access to all doors, a spacious seating design and large windows for better light and views. They will have better accessibility with wider aisles and areas for to bicycles”.
After static, dynamic and recording tests, the first LRVs will be ready for revenue service in the summer of 2024, SacRT reported.
The new low-floor cars are part of SacRT’s Light Rail Modernization Project, which includes modifications to the station to accommodate the new low-floor vehicles.
Station platforms must be at least eight inches above the top of the track to allow a ramp to be deployed from the LRV to the station platform at the proper slope for passengers to board , according to SacRT (see image above). The majority of stations (48 of 53) serving the light rail system do not have platforms that meet this requirement and will have to be raised with the addition of concrete. The entire Gold Line is expected to be updated for the new cars in the summer of 2024.
The Gold Line’s 59th Street station will be modified first, and additional stations will be worked on in phases, the transit agency reported Jan. 31.
The light rail modernization project also includes adding an overpass to provide 15-minute service to stations in the Folsom area.
