The Gold Line is a light rail

Light rail

Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...

 transit line in the Sacramento Regional Transit District

Sacramento Regional Transit District

The Sacramento Regional Transit District, commonly referred to as RT, is the agency responsible for public transportation in the Sacramento, California area. It was established on April 1, 1973, as a result of the acquisition of the Sacramento Transit Authority...

 (RT) light rail system. It runs primarily east-west in Sacramento, portions of unincorporated Sacramento County, Rancho Cordova

Rancho Cordova, California

Rancho Cordova is a city in Sacramento County, California, USA, that incorporated in 2003. It is part of the Sacramento Metropolitan Area. The population was 64,776 at the 2010 census. Rancho Cordova is the Sacramento area's largest employment sub-center, with a daily influx of over 45,000...

 and Folsom

Folsom, California

Folsom is a city in Sacramento County, California, United States. Folsom is most commonly known for its famous Folsom Prison. The population was 72,203 at the 2010 census....

. Portions of the Gold Line run along the original initial alignment between 16th Street and Butterfield stations.

History

The first light rail line of the RT, which opened in 1987, was an 18.3 miles (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

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

 (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.

Surprisingly, the line became more popular than anyone 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 miles (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 (now part of the Blue Line

Blue Line (Sacramento RT)

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

) 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 miles (18 km) line to Elk Grove. Much of the extension follows a railroad right-of-way. When it opened, 7 new stops were added to the system.

In June 2005, following a reconfiguration of the light rail system, the Sunrise-Downtown Line was created (it formerly continued beyond the downtown St. Rose of Lima Park station to Watt/I-80); it runs from St. Rose/K-Street to Sunrise with an extension to the Folsom area that opened on October 15, 2005. It has since been redesignated in color as the Gold Line. On December 8, 2006 it was extended even further to the downtown Amtrak depot (a.k.a. the Sacramento Valley Station); connecting the light rail system to the national rail system

Amtrak

The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...

 for the first time.

Listing of stations on the Gold Line

Station	Opened	Bike lockers	Transfers
Sacramento Valley Station	2006	No	Amtrak Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union... RT buses 30,31
7th & I/County Center (outbound only)	2007	No	Many RT buses
8th & K (inbound only)	2006	No	Blue Line Many RT buses
7th & Capitol (outbound); 8th & Capitol (inbound) 7th & Capitol and 8th & Capitol (Sacramento RT) 7th & Capitol and 8th & Capitol is a split light rail station on the Sacramento Regional Transit District's Blue and Gold Lines. It is located in Downtown Sacramento at the intersection of Capitol Mall and 7th Street and 8th Street and within walking distance of the California State Capitol...	1987	No	Blue Line Many RT buses
8th & O 8th & O (Sacramento RT) 8th & O is a split light rail station on the Sacramento Regional Transit District's Blue and Gold Lines. It is located at the intersection of 8th and O Streets in Downtown Sacramento, California , with the split platforms located on each side of 8th Street where the line splits into one-way...	1987	No	Blue Line Many RT buses
Archives Plaza	1987	No	Blue Line
13th Street 13th Street (Sacramento RT) 13th Street is a side platformed Sacramento RT light rail station in Downtown Sacramento, California, United States. The station was opened on September 5, 1987, and is operated by the Sacramento Regional Transit District...	1987	No	Blue Line
16th Street 16th Street (Sacramento RT) 16th Street is a side platformed Sacramento RT light rail station in Downtown Sacramento, California, United States. The station was opened on September 5, 1987, and is operated by the Sacramento Regional Transit District...	1987	Yes	Blue Line RT bus 6
23rd Street 23rd Street (Sacramento RT) 23rd Street is a side platformed Sacramento RT light rail station in the Midtown neighborhood of Sacramento, California, United States. The station was opened on September 5, 1987, and is operated by the Sacramento Regional Transit District. As part of the Gold Line, it has service to Downtown...	1987	Yes	No transfers on site
29th Street 29th Street (Sacramento RT) 29th Street is a side platformed Sacramento RT light rail station in the Midtown neighborhood of Sacramento, California, United States. The station was opened on September 5, 1987, and is operated by the Sacramento Regional Transit District. As part of the Gold Line, it has service to Downtown...	1987	No	RT buses 38, 67, 68, e-tran E-tran e-tran is the public transit system for the city of Elk Grove, California and parts of south Sacramento. With currently 20 local routes, it began service on January 2, 2005. Nearby Sacramento RT formerly operated bus service in Elk Grove, but it mostly consisted of express bus routes linking Elk... , El Dorado Transit, Mercy Hospital Shuttle, Sutter Hospital Shuttle
39th Street 39th Street (Sacramento RT) 39th Street is a side platformed Sacramento RT light rail station in the Elmherst neighborhood of Sacramento, California, United States. The station was opened on July 14, 1994, and is operated by the Sacramento Regional Transit District. As part of the Gold Line, it has service to Downtown...	1995	Yes	RT bus 213, 214, UCDMC Shuttle
48th Street 48th Street (Sacramento RT) 48th Street is a side platformed Sacramento RT light rail station in the Elmherst neighborhood of Sacramento, California, United States. The station was opened on July 14, 1994, and is operated by the Sacramento Regional Transit District. As part of the Gold Line, it has service to Downtown...	1995	Yes	No transfers on site
59th Street 59th Street (Sacramento RT) 59th Street is a side platformed Sacramento RT light rail station in the Fairgrounds neighborhood of Sacramento, California, United States. The station was opened on September 5, 1987, and is operated by the Sacramento Regional Transit District. As part of the Gold Line, it has service to Downtown...	1987	Yes	No transfers on site
University/65th Street University/65th Street (Sacramento RT) University/65th Street is a side platformed Sacramento RT light rail station in Sacramento, California, United States. The station was opened on September 5, 1987, is operated by the Sacramento Regional Transit District and is the closest station to California State University, Sacramento...	1987	Yes	RT buses 26, 34, 36, 38, 81, 82, 87, Amador County Transit
Power Inn	1987	Yes	RT bus 61
College Greens	1987	Yes	RT bus 61
Watt/Manlove	1987	Yes	RT buses 72, 80, 84, 255
Starfire Starfire (Sacramento RT) Starfire is a side platformed Sacramento RT light rail station in Rosemont, California, United States. The station was opened on September 5, 1987, and is operated by the Sacramento Regional Transit District....	1987	Yes	RT buses 80, 84
Tiber Tiber (Sacramento RT) Tiber is a side platformed Sacramento RT light rail station in La Riviera, California, United States. The station was opened on September 5, 1987, and is operated by the Sacramento Regional Transit District. As part of the Gold Line, it has service to Downtown Sacramento, California State...	1987	Yes	No bus transfers on site
Butterfield Butterfield (Sacramento RT) Butterfield is a side platformed Sacramento RT light rail station in La Riviera, California, United States. The station was opened on September 5, 1987, and is operated by the Sacramento Regional Transit District. As part of the Gold Line, it has service to Downtown Sacramento, California State...	1987	Yes	e-tran E-tran e-tran is the public transit system for the city of Elk Grove, California and parts of south Sacramento. With currently 20 local routes, it began service on January 2, 2005. Nearby Sacramento RT formerly operated bus service in Elk Grove, but it mostly consisted of express bus routes linking Elk...  70 and Roseville Transit Roseville Transit Roseville Transit is the operator of mass transportation in the expansive Sacramento, California suburb of Roseville. Fourteen local routes provide intracity service six days per week...  51
Mather Field/Mills	1998	Yes	RT buses 21, 72, 74, 75, VA Hospital Shuttle
Zinfandel Zinfandel (Sacramento RT) Zinfandel is a side platformed Sacramento RT light rail station in Rancho Cordova, California, United States. The station was opened on June 11, 2004, and is operated by the Sacramento Regional Transit District. As part of the Gold Line, it has service to Downtown Sacramento, California State...	2004	No	No transfers on Site
Cordova Town Center	2004	No	RT bus 28
Sunrise Sunrise (Sacramento RT) Sunrise is a side platformed Sacramento RT light rail station in Rancho Cordova, California, United States. The station was opened on June 11, 2004, and is operated by the Sacramento Regional Transit District. As part of the Gold Line, it has service to Downtown Sacramento, California State...	2004	Yes	RT bus 74
Hazel Hazel (Sacramento RT) Hazel is a side platformed Sacramento RT light rail station in Gold River, California, United States. The station was opened on October 15, 2005, and is operated by the Sacramento Regional Transit District. As part of the Gold Line, it has service to Downtown Sacramento, California State...	2005	No	No transfers on site
Iron Point Iron Point (Sacramento RT) Iron Point is a side platformed Sacramento RT light rail station in Folsom, California, United States. The station was opened on October 15, 2005, and is operated by the Sacramento Regional Transit District. As part of the Gold Line, it has service to Downtown Sacramento, California State...	2005	No	Folsom Stage Lines
Glenn Glenn (Sacramento RT) Glenn is a side platformed Sacramento RT light rail station in Folsom, California, United States. The station was opened on October 15, 2005, and is operated by the Sacramento Regional Transit District. As part of the Gold Line, it has service to Downtown Sacramento, California State University,...	2005	No	Folsom Stage Lines
Historic Folsom	2005	No	Folsom Stage Lines

External links

• RT Light Rail map
• Gold Line schedule