California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) announced the recipients of its Transit and Intercity Capital Program (TIRCP) grants. Sacramento benefits from two projects:
- $9M to Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority for expanded service to Roseville and related rail improvements
- $30M to Sacramento Regional Transit District for a new streetcar
These grants of course are only a fraction of the cost of the projects, but every bit helps, and it is likely that these projects will now move forward though both were formerly stalled or moving very slowly.
From Streetsblog California, some more detail:
2. Increased Rail Service to Roseville and Rail Improvements
$8,999,000 to Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority
The project includes:
- Extending rail service to Roseville, building eight miles of a third track, a new bridge, station improvements, and more.
- Creating a service optimization plan to connect with Altamont Corridor Express and Amtrak San Joaquin passenger rail services.
- Adding standby electric train power to enable more trains to utilize grid electricity at the Oakland Maintenance Facility.
Capitol Corridor’s website News & Alerts page has more detail.
10. Sacramento Streetcar
$30,000,000 to Sacramento Regional Transit District
Funds go to the planned Downtown/Riverfront Sacramento-West Sacramento Streetcar (pending the project’s federal full-funding grant agreement expected by early 2017) including nineteen stations and six streetcars.