Train stalls and outages, of many kinds, have become so common that Sound Transit CEO Goran Sparrman on Tuesday declared “the existence of an emergency,” to seek a no-bid work order for engineering firm HNTB to provide up to $1.5 million in technical services. A bigger contract or contracts to fix unreliable components, ranging from electric supply networks to train dispatching systems, will be sent to bid later. Sound Transit has previously predicted that projects will be needed through early 2026.