The Abridged version:
- Proponents say the window of opportunity has passed to build a light rail line through Natomas to Sacramento International Airport.
- Regional transit officials face a deadline to act, as rights of way expiration dates loom.
- Leaders are now looking to “bus rapid transit” lines as one solution, for a quarter of the cost.
The vision of a light rail line that connects downtown Sacramento to Sacramento International Airport is over three decades in the making. The pitch is almost European in nature. It’s modern. It’s ecofriendly. It’s convenient.
And leaders worry it’s become a pipe dream.
The airport in the capital of the fourth largest economy of the world, with 13.8 million annual passengers, is served predominantly by car-centric options and sporadic bus service. Rapidly growing neighborhoods to the north of the city have a dearth of public transit options.
The latest price tag for a light rail extension to the airport has crossed the $2 billion mark, nearly double the estimate from a decade ago. While the original plans were hatched in 1991, the projected completion date now stretches between 2038 and 2050.
“It’s insurmountable,” said City Councilmember Lisa Kaplan, whose district includes North Natomas. “This has been a plan that’s been around for 30-plus years, been talked about, and has not gotten one iota of funding.”
Airport officials are moving forward with more parking to handle passenger growth at SMF. A new 5,500-space parking garage project headlines a $1.3 billion airport improvement project. It is scheduled to open in fall 2026.
As the dream of building out the physical rail lines drifts further into the future, local leaders are increasingly looking to buses, rather than railcars, as one solution.
“I think everybody believes now you do not need to have light rail there,” said Rep. Doris Matsui, whose office is working with Sacramento Regional Transit on expanding bus service. “It could be something that’s more intentionally going to the airport.”
SacRT is currently studying “bus rapid transit” options to connect the city to the airport, which would set aside dedicated bus lanes and priority traffic signals at a fraction of the cost. A study comparing the cost and feasibility of bus rapid transit lanes, or BRT, is expected to arrive early next year.
Possible routes to the airport
Dubbed the Green Line, the proposed light rail extension to the airport has at least three route options, each with benefits and snags.
“We do not know if we’re going to go through the Truxel Bridge, through I-5 or go through the (Highway) 160 gateway,” said Henry Li, general manager and CEO of SacRT.
The original proposed route would travel from downtown Sacramento north through the River District and cross the American River at the yet-to-be-built Truxel Bridge. The route would continue along Truxel Road, past the old Sleep Train Area site and then weave through North Market Boulevard and East Commerce Way and the Northlake neighborhood. It would eventually arrive at Sacramento International’s Terminal B.
The Truxel Bridge river crossing, while approved by Sacramento city leaders, lacks funding and isn’t slated to be built out for another decade.
The original Green Line plans require roughly 13 miles of new light rail track. Two-thirds of the land along that proposed route is optioned by SacRT on land rights that expire at the end of 2028 if the agency doesn’t invest more money to maintain them.
“That keeps us all awake at night,” Li said.
In another option, the train would depart the central city near Highway 160 and travel along Northgate Boulevard and San Juan Road, then eventually follow the same route through North Natomas toward the airport.
A third option would build a rail line parallel to Interstate 5. The route would lack the residential stops included in the other options but would provide faster service from downtown.
Between environmental review and building the first stretch of track between downtown and a new station in the River District, SacRT has already spent $15.2 million on the Green Line.
Councilmember Karina Talamantes, who represents South Natomas, is a strong proponent for the Truxel Bridge crossing and is pushing for the region’s leaders to support the crossing with light rail or bus rapid transit options.
“I don’t believe that people have lost hope to build public transit to the airport,” Talamantes said.
RT sees four transit options
“It’s still alive; however, there might be some adjustments down the road,” Li said of the light rail plans to the airport.
Li said SacRT is studying the pros and cons of four different ways to move forward on the project:
- Build out the full light rail path.
- Establish bus rapid transit only.
- Establish bus rapid transit plus a gradual build-out of the Green Line.
- Begin a slow build-out of the light rail line in phases.
At a $500 million cost estimate, bus rapid transit routes are promising and have a higher likelihood of receiving federal funding, Li said. They would operate differently than other bus lines in Sacramento. When BRT lines pull up to a major intersection, for instance, the traffic signals immediately change to allow the bus through. A bus on the route would arrive every 15 minutes.
Three decades of finger-pointing
Elected leaders at all levels of government, transportation commissions, intergovernmental agencies and six general managers at SacRT have published plans identifying a connector to the airport as a priority for the region. Nearly every planning document that dictates the way the Sacramento region should grow and adjust to the future contains blueprints for light rail to the airport.
Yet finger-pointing over funding for the project has gone on for three decades.
Li said he stands by SacRT’s ability to secure federal funding – regardless of presidential administration – but added that local funding is needed as leverage.
He pointed to long-held plans for a streetcar line between downtown Sacramento and Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento. Over the years, West Sacramento put up money, the state pitched in and Matsui secured a portion of federal funding. This year, it’s one of seven projects that have been recommended for Federal Transit Administration dollars, which could cover the remaining $36 million cost. The streetcar is slated to break ground next year, Li said.
$390 million airport parking garage underway
Sacramento County leaders approved $390 million for the airport parking garage project, which does not include new infrastructure for light rail.
The Green Line to the airport has yet to receive similar support.
Li said the parking garage cost is similar to the price tag of building out bus rapid transit lines that run every 10 minutes.
“This is the whole region’s priority, and they feel the parking is more important,” Li said.
Leaders at the airport say that federal regulations bar them from spending money outside the airport’s boundaries. The airport’s long-term plans have set aside space at Terminal B where a light rail station could eventually go.
“While we hear customers asking us about light rail expansion, we have many more requesting additional close-in parking,” said spokesperson Lindsay Myers.
Phil Serna, chair of the Sacramento Board of Supervisors and a member of the SacRT board for 14 years, said public transit should be a priority to the airport. But he rejected the idea that the county should put forward money for the project.
“My reaction to the supposition that the county should be funding it? No,” Serna said.
“That’s Measure A, that’s the federal government or, I suppose, the city of Sacramento’s responsibility.”
Natomas residents have said ‘No light rail’
The city of Sacramento saw a major push to fuel the Green Line expansion in 2007 and 2008, said Ray Tretheway, a former city councilmember. Pushback from Natomas residents ultimately quieted those efforts, Tretheway said. Lawn signs with the words “no light rail” lined Truxel Road and residents alleged that the light rail line would bring violence, Tretheway recalled. The city hasn’t seen a substantial effort to fund it since.
When asked if the window for opportunity for the light rail expansion had passed, Tretheway replied, “Oh gosh, yes.”
SacRT argues that it’s underfunded compared to other agencies of similar size, receiving just 20% of Sacramento County transportation taxes. Sacramento voters turned down larger sales taxes in 2022 via Measure A, which would have funneled more dollars to public transportation.
Transportation advocates are looking for a second bite at the apple in 2026, with a new ballot measure in the works, Li said. That tax measure could bring in the sort of funding needed to fuel light rail or BRT to the airport, he said.
Reducing the number of cars on the road toward the airport – via buses or light rail trains – has long been a priority for the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District.
“We are one of the few metro regions that doesn’t have a light rail system to the airport,” said Alberto Ayala, executive director with the air quality district. “We know it’s a gap.”
Ayala said that the district won’t give up on advocating for more public transit to the airport, but funding continues to pose a challenge.
“In times when budgets are facing deficits and we’re facing federal cuts,” Ayala said, “I’m afraid we’re going to have to wait until we have decent service to the airport.”
Felicia Alvarez is a reporter at Abridged covering accountability. She’s called Sacramento home since 2015 and has reported on government, health care and breaking news topics for both local and national news outlets.