Sacramento to increase Siemens S700 LRV fleet

Sacramento Regional Transit District, providing transit service in this Californian city (population 466 500), received the first of its order for 28 Siemens S700 LRVs in March 2023; to date 17 have arrived at the car barn. Now the fleet will be increased to 36, with an order for eight more (4001-4036). 

 

The now-floor LRVs, which are manufactured at Siemens’ factory on Sacramento, will be replacing the 36 Siemens-Duewag U2 cars that were delivered in 1985-1991 to open the system (operation started on 12 March 1987). 

 

Patronage peaked at 16.8M passengers/year in 2008, but fell by 42% over the following 10 years due to a population falling, fare increases, poor performance and security issues. A major refurbishment of the system is in progress to make it more reliable, accessible and attractive. 

 

The Siemens S700 is the successor to the S70 introduced in 2001; the last S70 was built in 2017. The first S700 were built for Portland in 2014. In Sacramento it is a 28.9m (95.4 feet) car with two articulations and a short centre section; they are 2.65 (8’7”) wide and can carry 225 passengers (74 seated). Power comes from 4 x 130kW motors giving a maximum design speed of 105km/h (65 mph). The 1500V dc Sacramento cars are double-ended and feature a low-floor (366mm) at the doors. there are four wheelchair spaces to increase accessibility options for passengers.