I visited the new SacRT light rail station at 7th & Railyards yesterday. The station has been open several days. Green Line service started October 12, and the station opened October 15.

The station is very bare bones, especially compared to the new Dos Rios Station. There are two benches, at either far end of the platform. There are shelters, but they are small, don’t fully shelter the benches. I was not there at night, so I don’t know how well lit the station is. There are two trash cans, and both had been vandalized already. There is some planting, not much.

There are two Tap2Ride readers, at both ends of the platform, but they were out of service when I visited. This was supposed to be the second pilot site for Tap2Ride on light rail. There is no ticket vending machine (TVM) at the station.

There is single track, so the 30-minute headway train from the end point at 7th & Richards/Township 9 Station just returns through the same station and platform. Since there is not much to see, I caught the same train southbound that had brought me northbound. The trains are single car S700s.

There are signs that indicate destination, but there are no signs to indicate that the northbound train stops at the north end of the platform, and the southbound train at the south end of the platform. This is a major flaw, since a person waiting at the wrong end would likely not be able to get to the other end in time to catch a train.

This station was paid for and built by the Sacramento Republic FC (soccer) owners, not by SacRT. SacRT said that when the developments in the Railyard come on line, the station will be upgraded with access to the soccer stadium, a wider plaza, and double-tracking at least for the station. It is not clear whether the route along 7th Street will ever be double-tracked.

The gallery below is my photos from the brief visit.