From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
|
Sounder Commuter Rail[2] |
|
Legend
|
Sounder commuter rail is a Regional rail
service operated by BNSF on behalf of Sound Transit.[3]
Service operates Monday through Friday during peak hours from Seattle, Washington, north to Everett
and south to Tacoma. As of 2008, schedules serve
the traditional peak commutes, with most trains running inbound to
Seattle in the morning and outbound in the afternoon. Two daily
round-trips run the "reverse commute" to and from Tacoma[4].
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 Q4 2008 was 9,979, up 13% from
8,820 in Q4 2007. Ridership has increased year over year steadily
with the addition of new service. One of the key benefits to
Sounder travel has been the on-time performance of the trains.
Performance has increased from the 2007 level of 98.06% to the 2008
level of 99.85%.
Service
history
North
Line
The 35 miles (56 km) 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 round trip train was added on June 6,
2005 to help increased ridership, and a third was added in
September 2007. There are currently three stops along the North
Line: Edmonds,
Mukilteo and Everett. On May 31, 2008 the Mukilteo
station opened and trains started stopping at the station.[5][6]
In September of 2008, an additional train was added to the line,
bringing the total number to four round trips in the peak
direction. Additionally, Sound Transit partners with Amtrak
Cascades to allow Sounder riders to use the two trains per day that
Amtrak Cascades operates to Bellingham, WA and Vancouver, BC
through the RailPlus program. This allows commuters to use the
Sounder fare structure between Everett and Seattle. The program is
only available to riders that use monthly passes. The Amtrak
Cascades trains do not stop at Mukilteo.
South
Line
The South Line began service with two round trip 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 8 round trips on the South Line, with two
operating in the reverse commute direction.
Future
Planning
Sound Transit is extending service south to South Tacoma and
Lakewood stations, with regular service expected to extend to those
stations in 2012. The stations are already completed, 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 about
$30m in additional funding.[7]
Amtrak Cascades will also benefit from this project, as it is an
integral part in the Pt. Defiance Bypass route.
Sound Transit plans to have a total of 9 round-trip trains on
the South Line by Q3 2009 - seven peak direction, and two reverse
commute trips.[8] This is
the maximum number of trains permitted under the current contract
with BNSF,
whose tracks the trains run on. Construction is underway on Tacoma
Rail's "L Street" Yard, where the trains layover during the night,
to make room for the additional Sounder trainset that will be
needed to accommodate the extra trip.
Due to the passage of 2008's regional Proposition 1, platform
length extensions and up to four additional South line round trips
are in planning.
Fleet
References
External
links
| Mass transit in the Puget Sound
region |
|
| Local and Express bus |
|
|
| Light rail |
|
|
| Streetcar |
|
|
| Commuter rail |
Sounder
|
|
| Bus rapid transit |
|
|
| Ferry |
|
|
| Intercity rail |
|
|
| Monorail |
|
|
| Other |
|
|
| Italics
denote lines or services which are planned, under construction, or
otherwise not operating at the present time. |
|
Top topics
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search
