In the News
Seattle will give free transit cards to all public housing residents
An estimated 10,000 people will receive the black farecards at an estimated cost to taxpayers of $2.2 million per year, city staff said. Mayor Bruce Harrell, Seattle Department of Transportation Director Greg Spotts, and SHA Executive Director Rod Brandon announced...
Light-rail train hits pedestrian in Rainier Valley
A Sound Transit train struck a pedestrian on the 1 Line tracks in Rainier Valley early Sunday, causing serious injuries. In the 1 Line’s history, 30 pedestrians have been struck while crossing or walking in the rails between 2009 and mid-2022, among 168 total crashes...
Lynnwood or Bellevue: Which city should get light-rail service first?
By Mike Lindblom Seattle Times staff reporter Last summer, an Eastside starter line looked like a straightforward solution to light-rail construction delays. Sound Transit could open eight stations by spring 2024 to whisk riders across Bellevue, until...
Traffic deaths in WA outpaced national toll in 2022, early data shows
When Seattle hired a consultant to design a downtown streetcar line, the initial contract totaled $1.85 million. Four years and 11 amendments later, the cost had grown to $14.3 million. Today, the line has yet to be built and the contract is among several now...
Sounder trains’ future in limbo as riders are slow to return
By David Kroman Seattle Times staff reporter In April 2020, two months after the first reported case of the coronavirus in the U.S., the future of the Sounder commuter rail line looked bright. Ridership between Seattle and the South Sound would continue to grow in the...
Amtrak Cascades will have a new Northwest look in 2026
Dec. 15, 2022 at 3:40 pm Updated Dec. 15, 2022 at 7:12 pm In 2026, a new fleet of Northwest-themed trains will hit the tracks and transport passengers between Seattle, Vancouver, B.C., and Portland along the Amtrak Cascades line. Read the article...
Downtown Tacoma light-rail train derailed due to defective switch
A malfunctioning switch was the reason a Sound Transit light-rail train derailed early Wednesday in downtown Tacoma, the agency said. Read the article
Time to kill the Highway 99 tunnel tolls and save Seattle’s waterfront
When state officials met recently to discuss how their highway megaprojects are doing, the fact that fewer people are driving through Seattle these days was presented as terrible news. Read the article
Sound Transit train derails, causing disruption in Tacoma
A Sound Transit train derailed early Wednesday in Tacoma, the agency confirmed. No injuries were reported. The T Line train derailed at the intersection of South Seventh and Commerce streets in Tacoma. Its speed has yet to be determined, Sound Transit...
Seattle looks to transform Third Avenue from transit-only to inviting ‘front door’
Seattle’s Third Avenue is known primarily for two things: transit and disorder. After years — decades, even — of effort to control the latter, city leaders have begun to wonder whether rethinking the former might help. Read the article...
Crews repair issue that shut down Link light rail service between U District, Northgate
SEATTLE — Just before 9 p.m., Sound Transit tweeted that repairs were completed after a mechanical issue caused a power outage and shut down the Link 1 line service between the University District and Northgate going northbound. Hundreds of commuters had their...
Sound Transit goes all-in on a gentler kind of fare enforcement
Sep. 2, 2022 at 6:00 am Updated Sep. 2, 2022 at 6:55 pm After two years of not enforcing payment, Sound Transit will bring back spot checks of passengers by deploying “fare ambassadors” who educate nonpaying riders and issue lighter penalties — a new strategy leaders...
Planning for Delridge light rail highlights displacement risks up and down the line
Aug. 20, 2022 “How can you, Sound Transit board, choose a route that destroys a child care center and an agency that serves people with disabilities?” resident Lucy Barefoot asked at a recent meeting. “They are the very same people you’re building this light...
More delays for light rail to Bellevue, Redmond, Federal Way, Lynnwood Aug. 18, 2022
KENT — Sound Transit revealed Thursday that light-rail service to the Eastside, which was to begin by July 2023, will open a year or more later because contractors must reinforce or rebuild 4 miles of flawed concrete track supports through Mercer Island and...
Sound Transit 3: Progress in West Seattle, paralysis in Chinatown International District
Almost six years after voters approved a massive light-rail expansion, Sound Transit made progress this summer by declaring preferred locations for three stations and a short tunnel in West Seattle. But the agency’s board members are still flailing when it comes to...
The collateral damage from urban planning by Marie Wong Ph.D
August 8, 2022 The Chinatown-International District (CID) is facing one of the most potentially (and likely) devastating urban planning disasters with the four light rail alignments that are proposed with the Sound Transit 3 (ST3) expansion. ...