Get a sneak peek at Sacramento’s new light rail trains and hear what disabled people think
Sacramento Regional Transit invited community members to tour a new S700 low-floor light rail train Wednesday at the Township 9 station located at 7th Street and Richards in Sacramento.
Later this summer, once construction is completed, the new trains will hit the tracks on the Green and Gold lines. Construction on Blue Line station platforms is set to begin in the fall.
Sacramento Regional Transit Spokesperson Jessica Gonzalez said the new trains allow passengers to board at station level. They also have buttons to deploy ramps so that individuals using mobility aids can easily board the vehicles.
“This is really a game changer for mobility in the Sacramento region,” Gonzalez said. “Anyone with a mobility device can use two of the center doors, where a deployable ramp will come out of the door, and they can roll or walk or scoot onto the train.”
Wheelchair user Faith Laurent, who is paralyzed from the waist down, was taking her dog for a walk when she saw the trains in the distance and decided to check them out. Laurent uses electric and manual wheelchairs, and she said she wanted to see how accessible the train’s ramp was.
“For a manual chair, for someone who has a wheelchair like mine, I do not feel like it’s accessible. I had to ask for help to get down. Basically, I was going to fall down, which was not good, and the chair would have toppled on top of me,” Laurent said. “I had to ask for help to get down.”
No two people’s experiences are identical. Brian Thao, who uses an electric wheelchair, said he appreciated the vehicle’s accessibility. Thao said the low-floor light rail trains follow universal design, the notion that design can be both functional and beautiful, “to the tee.”
“People with limited mobility or wheelchair users like myself don’t really have to ask for help,” Thao said. “Usually for the normal trains, regular trains, you usually have to ask for help. … But with these trains you can just press the button and the ramp will automatically come out, and you can just get inside.”
Unlike the cramped and crowded trains of the past, RT’s new train design has more space, larger windows and numerous seats. Gonzalez said the “new train smell” and the vehicles’ reliability is exciting, and she is optimistic that people will be eager to board the new trains.
“This is probably the largest project SacRT has ever taken on,” Gonzalez said. “I hope that they see the future of transportation in Sacramento and that they’re excited.”
