The Sacramento Bee reports ( http://bit.ly/ZAMtR1) that U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Federal Transit Administration head Peter Rogoff appeared in town Monday to announce the grant.

The project will expand the system another 4.3-miles farther south, to Cosumnes River College.

Local officials want to build a seamless rail network that can take riders from streetcars to light rail to Amtrak, and perhaps eventually to high-speed rail.

LaHood said the Obama administration is eager to help Sacramento lead the way in reintroducing rail transit as a complement to freeways.

The money came from the federal New Starts transit fund, which is paying for half the project's cost.

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Information from: The Sacramento Bee, http://www.sacbee.com