The first phase will extend light rail 1.1 miles from downtown north to River District and eventually will connect the airport. The project is also known as Downtown Natomas Airport (DNA) corridor and will be 13 miles long with 14 stations.

With the first phase of the project, the Sacramento officials chose an interesting approach to urban transport development. River District is not intensively populated and the project managers believe that the new rail line will boost the development.

RT acknowledges that the ridership numbers will be low at first. Fewer than 300 passengers per day are projected at Richards Boulevard in the first year.

"The risks were weighed, and I think we made the right call. It gives us an opportunity to establish transit as the mode of choice as people move in," said Sacramento City Councilman Ray Tretheway.

First phase of the Green Line should begin operations in November 2010. Extension of the line over the American River is unlikely to happen before 2014, the airport connection not before 2017, RT officials said.

“The first phase of the line will be financed entirely by local funding and for the construction of the rest of the line we will use the local, state and federal funding”, said Mike Wiley, RT General Manager.

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