Sounder commuter rail

Sounder Commuter Rail[1]
Legend Station Everett Station Mukilteo Station (2008) Edmonds Station King Street Station (Seattle) (Central Link) Tukwila Station Kent Station Auburn Station Sumner Station Puyallup Station Tacoma Dome Station (Tacoma Link) South Tacoma Station (2010) Lakewood Station (2010)

Sounder commuter rail is a Regional rail service operated by Sound Transit. Service operates Monday through Friday during peak hours from Seattle, Washington, north to Everett and south to Tacoma. Additional Sounder trains operate on some Saturdays and Sundays for travel to and from Seahawks games at Qwest Field and Mariners games at Safeco Field. Both stadiums are a short walk from King Street Station. The average weekday ridership in Q3 2007 was 8,333, up 31% from 6,355 in Q3 2006. Ridership is currently limited by the BNSF railroad's contractually obligated track and signal upgrades. New trains cannot be added until BNSF completes double-tracking work for the North Line and signal upgrades for the South Line.

Contents 1 Service History 1.1 North Line 1.2 South Line 2 Future Planning 3 Fleet 4 Sources 5 External links

Service History

North Line

The 35-mile Everett to Seattle line started with a Seahawks Game train on December 21, 2003. Regular service started on the 22nd with one morning train to Seattle and one evening train back. A second roundtrip train was added on June 6, 2005 to help increase ridership, and a third was added in September of 2007. There are currently two stops along the North Line: Edmonds and Everett. In 2008, Sound Transit will open Mukilteo station. [1] By 2010, Sound Transit plans to have 4 Sounder roundtrip trains on the North Line.

South Line

The South Line began service with two roundtrip trains on September 18, 2000 with stops in Tacoma, Sumner and Auburn that terminated in Seattle. Puyallup and Kent stations were added February 5, 2001; with Tukwila being added March 12, 2001. There are currently 7 stations on the South Line. A third roundtrip train was added on the South Line in 2002, a fourth in 2005, and a fifth and sixth in 2007 (one peak, one reverse commute) to handle ridership growth.

Future Planning

Sound Transit is extending service south to South Tacoma and Lakewood stations, with regular service expected to extend to those stations in 2010. The stations are currently under construction, but this project depends on connecting Tacoma's Freighthouse Square station with the "Lakeview Subdivision" - the common name for the line that these two new stations serve. This project is dependent upon the City of Tacoma's authorization of a design, and has been delayed by the city. [2] Sound Transit plans to have a total of 9 roundtrip trains on the South Line by Q4 2008 - seven peak direction, and two reverse commute trips. [3]

Fleet

Manufacturer	Model	Numbers	Notes
EMD	EMD F59PHI locomotives
Bombardier Transportation	Bombardier BiLevel Coach		Some leased to Metrolink (Southern California) and Virginia Railway Express

Sources

External links

• Sounder Commuter Rail Schedules
• Amtrak RailPlus

•  • e Mass transit in the Puget Sound area
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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