Tag Archives: sound transit

Another delay for Judkins Park Station: Spring 2025

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Pretty much ready and waiting (Image: Sound Transit)

The station has stood mostly complete — since May 2022 (Image: Sound Transit)

Judkins Park Station is mostly ready and waiting but the first light rail trains probably won’t arrive there until the spring of 2025.

Sound Transit says ongoing construction problems will further delay its expansion to the Eastside including the new Judkins Park Station in the Central District. In a construction update (PDF), Sound Transit said a major project for “track reconstruction” is  “progressing slower than planned.”

The Seattle Times reported here on the multimillion dollar mistakes that have caused contractors to start over on hundreds of concrete track ties on the I-90 portion of the new light rail route.

Sound Transit has now revised its plans for a spring 2025 opening of the line and the new Judkins Park station with its design that honors neighborhood music legend Jimi Hendrix. Continue reading →

Trouble for Midtown Station plan as Sound Transit board embraces new option for light rail’s future in the International District

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The Sound Transit board has set a new path for its planned light rail expansions by embracing a plan that would split a light rail station in the heart of the International District into two smaller stations north and south of Chinatown that proponents say would be less disruptive to the communities and small businesses of the area. But the split would have repercussions up and down the city including eliminating the planned Midtown Station near 4th and Madison that would serve as a relatively nearby access point for the neighborhoods of First Hill.

The governing board voted 15-1 Thursday to pursue the “North of C-ID” option hinging on a last minute proposal backed by King County Executive Dow Constantine and Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell that will create one of the likely twin stations at 4th and James. Another south of the ID would also be required to manage the future light rail traffic flows as the system branches out to Ballard and West Seattle. Continue reading →

Downtown tunnel work means no light rail service between Capitol Hill and SoDo over Veterans Day weekend

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Capitol Hill to Northgate this weekend? No problem (Image: Sound Transit)

Work in the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel will mean no light rail service over the Veterans Day weekend between Capitol Hill and SoDo.

Sound Transit says the service disruption will take place Friday, November 11th through Sunday, November 13th with trains expected to return to this portion of the line by Monday morning.

Officials say riders should allow up to an additional 30 minutes for their trips if they plan to make use of the shuttle buses that will be in place: Continue reading →

Sound Transit’s new plan maintains 10-minute frequencies at Capitol Hill Station during summer maintenance projects

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Link light rail to Lynnwood, Shoreline and Mountlake Terrace is also slated to open in 2024 (Image: Sound Transit)

Sound Transit has backed off plans to drop service frequencies across its light rail system as it undertakes a roster of summer maintenance projects to prepare for upcoming expansions.

The decision means light rail trains are planned to maintain 10-minute frequencies serving stations north of the stadiums including Capitol Hill.

But the new plan means 20-minute train frequencies “that were previously announced to be systemwide” during the upcoming planned work will “now only apply between Stadium and Angle Lake stations. Continue reading →

Sound Transit overhauls fare enforcement policies to address economic and racial equity — and thousands of riders it says do not pay

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The Sound Transit board of directors including Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell have approved long awaited changes to the system’s fare enforcement policies.

Thursday, the board approved changes that will revise policies for its light rail trains and buses to increase warnings and reduce fines, and, importantly, move enforcement from security officers in efforts intended to address concerns over equity and racial disparity.

CHS reported in 2020 on the Sound Transit board’s fare enforcement reform efforts after complaints about police-like enforcement officers and findings that showed the fare policies disproportionately impacted people of color “and individuals with little or no income.”  Surveys showed Black passengers were cited and punished disproportionately by the process. Continue reading →

After stranded light rail riders hiked out of tunnel, Sound Transit says, next time, wait for the ‘rescue train’

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(Image: @Danielhep)

Sound Transit says it is reviewing safety and emergency procedures after a breakdown in the light rail tunnel between the University of Washington Station and the new U District Station left a train full of riders stranded with many opting to hike out of the subway on foot during the Friday night incident.

“A Link light rail train became disabled in the northbound tunnel between University of Washington Station and U District Station after the electronic cable linking the first car and the trailing three cars was severed. As a result, the train came to an immediate stop,” Sound Transit said in its statement on the breakdown that came around 8:25 PM as crowds were leaving the Apple Cup game at Husky Stadium.

Sound Transit says the severed cable prevented the train’s operator from communicating by intercom with passengers in the trailing three cars, and “an unsafe incident developed when passengers decided to use emergency exits to leave the train.” Continue reading →

With prime directive to inform not enforce, Sound Transit testing light rail ‘fare ambassadors’

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(Image: Sound Transit)

As Sound Transit prepares to add 4.3 miles of service to its light rail lines, you’ll also find new “fare ambassadors” on trains starting this week. It’s an effort to address concerns about equity and heavy handed fare enforcement.

The new pilot program started Monday with fare ambassadors checking with riders for proof of payment and providing help and information about the transit service.

“We want all passengers to feel comfortable asking Fare Ambassadors for assistance, whether they need help getting to their destination, or they’re having trouble purchasing fare,” Sound Transit chief passenger experience and innovation officer Russ Arnold said in an announcement on the start of the new program. “Fare Ambassadors are here to provide help.” Continue reading →

Sound Transit ‘realignment plan’ adjusts schedules for new Seattle light rail: West Seattle in 2032, Ballard in 2039

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Faced with a $6.5 billion shortfall from pandemic-shrunk tax and bond forecasts, the Sound Transit Board Thursday approved a “realignment plan” that will delay many of its transit projects for years while preserving a handful of new lines and stations.

The math will work out as major delays for the two biggest Seattle projects with light rail’s extension to Ballard now pushed back to 2039 from the 2035 goal while the line to West Seattle delayed by two years to 2032.

“The steep rise in real estate and construction costs in the region in combination with advancing environmental review and project designs have driven up cost estimates for future transit expansions, contributing to a $6.5 billion affordability gap for delivering projects on earlier schedules,” the board’s statement on the vote reads. “While projects already in construction are not affected, the adopted realignment plan will guide the delivery dates for the next generation of voter-approved projects.”

The plan will keep a handful of projects on track. The NE 130th light rail station is expected to be completed by 2025, and Rainier Valley’s Graham St station and a Boeing Access Road station are planned to open in 2031.

Meanwhile, other projects nearing completion continue including the Northgate Link light rail expansion that will open up the north of the city including the University District, Roosevelt, and Northgate when it opens in October.

Judkins Park Station— and its Hendrix inspired design —  is slated to open in 2023 along with the rest of the 10-stop, voter initiative-funded East Link light rail line that will dramatically expand Sound Transit rail service in the region. The Central District station, tucked into I-90 between Rainier Ave and 23rd Ave, will be the first stop on the line that will connect Bellevue, Redmond, and Seattle across the I-90 bridge.

In 2016, voters across the region approved the Sound Transit 3 package to dramatically expand light rail in the region. The then $53.8 billion package was planned to extend light rail lines to Redmond by 2024, Ballard by 2035, and West Seattle by 2030, with extensions into Everett and Tacoma will come in the following years. The expanded system will eventually require a second downtown tunnel.

 
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As riders return, Sound Transit bumps light rail service frequency back up

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To handle more riders as the city reopens after months of COVID-19 restrictions and as the system gears up for October’s Northgate expansion, Sound Transit is increasing the frequency of light rail service, providing more frequent rides to and from Capitol Hill Station and beyond. The result of responding to increased demand? Probably even more demand.

“The days are longer, the weather is warmer, the virus is retreating, and we are all venturing out more and more. In the coming months as more and more people return to normal routines, expanded Link service will help riders get back to enjoying fast and congestion-free trips,” Sound Transit CEO Peter Rogoff said in the announcement of the restored service. “With traffic congestion worsening and already at pre-pandemic levels, the benefits of Link will only keep growing, especially with our Oct. 2 expansion of service northward to the U District, Roosevelt and Northgate.”

The restored service begins Saturday with light rail trains running every eight minutes during peak hours and every ten minutes during midday and weekends. Late evening service will run every 15 minutes. Continue reading →

Short billions for coming voter-approved projects, Sound Transit beginning ‘realignment’ process

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With news that new estimates show light rail to Ballard and West Seattle will cost billions more than expected, Sound Transit will hold a public workshop this week to bring its board of directors up to date on the cost challenges:

The Sound Transit Board of Directors will convene a workshop on Jan. 21 as part of work toward planned July decisions on long-range capital program adjustments in response to revenue impacts and cost pressures. The 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. workshop will take place as a videoconference due to ongoing COVID-19 precautions and can be watched at the below link. Information on the realignment process and the revenue and cost challenges is available at soundtransit.org

“Sound Transit is facing an unprecedented and extremely challenging financial environment caused by two major, simultaneous factors: (1) a pandemic-driven recession that has severely reduced consumer spending and government agency tax revenues; and (2) unrelenting pressures in the real estate and construction sectors of the economy that are continuing to drive costs to levels significantly beyond those foreseen in our plans,” the agency’s “Realignment Overview” reads.

“With greatly depleted revenues and higher construction costs, Sound Transit will not be able to deliver many expansion projects on their original timelines unless we receive alternative revenue from federal or state sources,” the overview says. Continue reading →