Each morning, Hamilton rides the Capitol Corridor train to the depot, then must walk through rain, cold or heat a mile and a half to her office.

Starting Monday, Hamilton will be able to step off her train and onto a light-rail car for a free transfer rider to Eighth and O streets, then walk a few blocks to her office. "I'm excited," she said. "This is going to make it a lot easier for me. The tracks are literally right on the other side of that platform."

She believes the arrival of light rail could boost ridership on the Capitol Corridor line.

Capitol Corridor trains link Auburn, Roseville, Rocklin, Sacramento, Davis, Fairfield, Vacaville, Oakland, San Jose and a handful of other cities.

Gene Skoropowski, head of the Capitol Corridor system, said passengers can get free transfers to light-rail trains from train conductors.

While hailed as a major step, the new light-rail line also comes at a heavy price. RT officials estimate the short extension will cost them $40 million, some $8 million more than first budgeted.

The project was slowed and costs escalated when workers discovered numerous unmapped underground utilities that had to be moved, and buried remains from an American Indian village.