| Sound Transit | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Locale | Puget Sound, Washington |
| Transit type | Bus, Regional rail, light rail |
| Began operation | 1993 |
| No. of lines | 27 |
| Operator | Community Transit, Metro Transit, Pierce Transit |
Sound Transit has been the popular name of Washington state's Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority since 1996. It was formed in 1993 by the Snohomish, King, and Pierce County Councils. It operates express bus, commuter rail, and light rail service in the region and constructs capital projects in support and expansion of those services.
Contents |
Express Bus
Sound Transit's express bus fleet is operated by local transit authorities Community Transit, Metro Transit, and Pierce Transit. Its Regional Express Bus Service provides service to cities in all three counties, including Seattle, Redmond, Issaquah, Lakewood, Bellevue, Auburn, Federal Way, Gig Harbor, Everett and Tacoma.
Light Rail
Sound Transit's light rail system consists of a 1.6-mile line known as the Tacoma Link, in Tacoma connecting the city's Theater District, Convention Center, train station, and Tacoma Dome arena.
Future plans
The Central Link, a 15.7 mile light rail line running between downtown Seattle and Sea-Tac Airport via the Rainier Valley, is currently under construction, scheduled to open in 2009. The University Link is a 3.15 mile extension of the Link Light Rail system that is currently in the final design process. Construction on the line is expected to begin in 2009 with completion in 2016. The line will connect downtown Seattle to the University of Washington via Capitol Hill. The line will be underground for its entire route and cost about $1.5 billion with half of the funding expected to come from a grant from the Federal Transit Administration.
Sound Transit 2
Sound Transit 2 was part of a joint ballot measure with the Regional Transportation Investment District entitled Roads and Transit, which was presented to Snohomish, King, and Pierce county voters on November 6 2007. Sound Transit 2 would have made a number of mass transit related improvements.[1] These changes included almost 50 miles in new light rail lines, four new parking garages, two new Sounder stations, a streetcar line connecting First Hill, Capitol Hill, and the International District, a transit center in Bothell, and two expansion studies, one for studying rapid transit across the SR-520 floating bridge and the other studying the use of the Woodinville Subdivision between Renton and Woodinville.[2] The ballot measure was defeated by voters.[3]
Commuter Rail
Sound Transit operates the Sounder Commuter Rail, a commuter rail service between Everett and Seattle, and between Seattle and Tacoma. There are currently 4 daily round-trips between Tacoma and Seattle and 2 between Everett and Seattle. Sound Transit will eventually run up to 18 daily round-trips from Tacoma and 4 from Everett to Seattle once all trackwork is completed by BNSF Railway. They also plan on extending service to South Tacoma and Lakewood by 2010. Current and soon-to-open stations are:
- Everett Station
- Edmonds Station
- Mukilteo Station (opens late 2007)
- King Street Station (Downtown Seattle)
- Tukwila Station
- Kent Station
- Auburn Station
- Sumner Station
- Puyallup Station
- Tacoma Dome Station
- South Tacoma (opening 2008 bus service/2010 commuter rail)
- Lakewood Station (opening 2008 bus service/2010 commuter rail).
Fleet
| Sounder Commuter Rail | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mfg | Model | Length | Passengers | Purchased | Retired | Qty.* | Fleet Numbers |
| GM Electro Deisel | F59PH1, 3000 horsepower | 58'-7" | NA | 1999 | in service | 11 | 900-910 [4] |
| 2000 | in service | ||||||
| 2001 | in service | ||||||
| Bombardier | Cab Car | 85' | 136 (seated) | 1999 | in service | 18 | ???-??? [4] |
| 2000 | in service | ||||||
| 2001 | in service | ||||||
| Bombardier | BiLevel Coach | 85' | 140 (seated) | 1999 | in service | 40 | ???-??? [4] |
| 2000 | in service | ||||||
| 2001 | in service | ||||||
| Link Light Rail | |||||||
| Mfg | Motor | Length | Passengers | Purchased | Retired | Qty.* | Fleet Numbers |
| Kinkisharyo | Mitsui 1500V-DC Electric Traction | 95' | 200 (74/126) | 2007 | testing | 35 | 101-135 [5] |
| Skoda | 750V-DC Electric Traction | 66' | 56 (30/26) | 2001 | in service | 3 | 1001-1003 [6] |
| ST Express Busses | |||||||
| Model | Motor | Length | Passengers | Purchased | Retired | Qty.* | Fleet Numbers |
| New Flyer DE60LF | Cat C9/GMHybrid [7] | 60' | 57 (seated) | 2005 | in service | 22 | 9600-9621 [8] |
| New Flyer D60LF | Detroit Diesel Engines Series 50[9] | 60.7' | 60 (seated) | 1999 | in service | 25 | 9500-9524, 9525-9536, 9537-9552[9] |
| Detroit Diesel Engines Series 50[9] | 2000 | 12 | |||||
| CAT (Caterpillar) C9 engine[9] | 2004 | 16 | |||||
| New Flyer DE40LF | Cummins ISL | 40' | 37 (seated) | 2003 | in service | 1 | 9200[10] |
| New Flyer C40LF | Cummins ISL C-Gas+ 250/280 HP?[11] | 40.8' | 39 (seated) | 2001 | in service | 20 | 9400-9419[11] |
| Gillig PHANTOM | Cummins ISM Engine[12] | 40' | 45 (seated) | 1999 | in service | 92 | 9000-9069, 9070-9089, 9090-9091[13] |
| Cummins ISM Engine[12] | 2001 | ||||||
| Cummins ISL Engine [14] | 2005 | ||||||
| Motor Coach Industries D4500 | Low emission Detroit Diesel EGR Series 60 NOx 2.5 | 45' | 57 (seated) | 2005 | in service | 13 | 9700-9712[15] |
| Orion V | Cummins L10 260G [16] | 40' | 45 (seated) | 1994 | in service | 27 | 800-827[17] |
| 1995 | 2 | ||||||
See also
Notes
- ^ Larry Lange. "Sound Transit expansion ballot-bound", Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 2007-04-26. Retrieved on 2007-04-27.
- ^ Sound Transit completes major transit expansion package for November Roads & Transit vote. Sound Transit (2007-04-26). Retrieved on 2007-04-27.
- ^ Larry Lange. "Proposition 1: Voters hit the brakes", Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 2007-11-07. Retrieved on 2007-11-07.
- ^ a b c Sounder Commuter Rail Train Specifications. Sound Transit. Retrieved on 2007-06-28.
- ^ Link Light Rail Train Specifications. Sound Transit. Retrieved on 2007-06-28.
- ^ Tacoma Link Light Rail Train Specifications. Sound Transit. Retrieved on 2007-06-28.
- ^ Hybrid Vehicle Specifications. New Flyer Industries, Inc.. Retrieved on 2007-05-19.
- ^ New Flyer Articulated Hybrid Diesel-Electric Bus. Sound Transit. Retrieved on 2007-05-19.
- ^ a b c d ST Express 60-foot Diesel Low Floor Bus Specifications (New Flyer). Sound Transit. Retrieved on 2007-05-19.
- ^ ST Express 40-foot Diesel-Electric Hybrid Bus Specifications (New Flyer). Sound Transit. Retrieved on 2007-05-19.
- ^ a b ST Express 40-foot CNG Bus Specifications (New Flyer). Sound Transit. Retrieved on 2007-05-19.
- ^ a b http://www.cummins-sp.com/engines/automotive/ism_engine.htm
- ^ ST Express 40-foot Diesel Bus Specifications (Gillig). Sound Transit. Retrieved on 2007-05-19.
- ^ http://www.everytime.cummins.com/every/applications/isl_motor.jsp
- ^ a b ST Express 45-foot Long-Haul Bus Specifications (MCI). Sound Transit. Retrieved on 2007-05-19.
- ^ http://www.eere.energy.gov/cleancities/conference/2003/pdfs/monroe_pierce.pdf
- ^ ST Express 40-foot CNG Bus Specifications (Orion). Sound Transit. Retrieved on 2007-05-19.
External links
Mass transit in the Puget Sound area | |
|---|---|
| Transit agencies | Metro Transit • Pierce Transit • Community Transit • Sound Transit/ST Express • Everett Transit • Kitsap Transit • Intercity Transit • Island Transit • Washington State Ferries |
| Light rail | Tacoma Link • Central Link • University Link • Link Light Rail • North Link • South Link • East Link • South Lake Union Streetcar • Waterfront Streetcar |
| Bus rapid transit | Rapid Ride • SWIFT |
| Commuter rail | Sounder |
| Monorail | Seattle Center Monorail |
| Other | Orca Card |
| Italics denote proposed or under construction lines | |
