It is also the western terminus for the Gold Line of the SacRT light rail system and the Route 30 bus serving California State University, Sacramento.

The San Joaquins operates a single daily round trip from Bakersfield by way of Modesto and Stockton with Sacramento as the northern terminus.

The present building, designed by the San Francisco architectural firm of Bliss and Faville for the Southern Pacific Railroad, was built in 1926 on the site of China Slough in the Renaissance Revival style.

Inside, the waiting room has a mural by artist John A. MacQuarrie that depicts the celebration of the groundbreaking for the First transcontinental railroad on January 8, 1863, in Sacramento.

Sacramento Regional Transit Gold Line light rail operations remain in their original location directly behind the station depot.

As a result, the station interior was full of scaffolding to facilitate the work being undertaken, causing the passenger waiting space to be visibly confined throughout the duration of the renovation.

[13] The third and final stage, called the Sacramento Valley Station Intermodal Phase III, will consist of continued station improvements, including the light rail trackage realignment into a downtown loop, addition of a new bus loop and terminal adjacent to the new platform, and construction of an elevated concourse to replace the current walkway to permanently connect the Railyards development to the north.

Additional features will also include new bicycle trails, site preparation for commercial and mixed-residential use surrounding the historic depot, and possible land conversion for the California State Railroad Museum expansion east where parking lots currently exist.

[12] The city does not plan to immediately vacate the station, but services inside the main Head House building will slowly shift over the coming years as various projects to remodel and retrofit the facility and grounds progress.

[12] The long-term plan also calls for integrating the proposed Sacramento Streetcar project as well as constructing a loop for light rail lines to enable through-running.